Eye on Agriculture - Canola Harvest

A string of hot dry weather the last week has farmers racing to keep up pace in the field and in ...  More »

A string of hot dry weather the last week has farmers racing to keep up pace in the field and in the combine. Harvesters have been rolling nearly around the clock since late last week with small grains coming off along with others like this field of Canola near Velva. (Richard Haugeberg, Farmer) It's been going pretty good. The hot weather is pushing everything right along just the way we like it. Richard Haugeberg and his crew were straight cutting this field today. This is the second year Haugeberg has straight cut canola - moving away from the traditional style of swathing - waiting - and then coming back later to pick up the dried down windrow. Haugeberg says there's a big difference of taking the crop and putting right into the bin. (Richard Haugeberg, Farmer) You'll notice right away when you get a sample of straight cut canola it's just black. It looks like coal. I know when we swathed a lot of canola you get a lot of orangish, reddish tint in a lot of the canola. I suppose it's just a little immature when you swath it. Test weights they say is a little bit heavier with this. And so far this field, that received some mid-summer rain, is showing signs of a decent harvest. (Richard Haugeberg, Farmer) 1800 (lbs.) or a little bit better maybe. It's combining real nice. It's still early in the harvest season for Haugeberg and other farmers. Much of the pea fields are already in the bin but the small grain grind is still in full swing. (Richard Haugeberg, Farmer) A few more hot days and I'm sure I'll be behind but right now we're keeping up. As the weather hold Haugeberg expects the fall field season to keep moving at a steady pace and to find a wide variety results in the field because of the spotty rain showers this summer. (Richard Haugeberg, Farmer) The rains in late June and early July without any moisture in our area anyway it took it's toll on a lot of crops. It's going to be like last year the later in the year you'll see the decrease in the yields. Near Velva with Your Eye On Agriculture, Shaun Sipma KX News.  « Less