Hurry up maturity needed

Cooler than normal with high humidity and a good chance of showers. That seems to be the forecast over the days ahead. For producers in most areas of the province, it isn’t what they want to hear. Recent warm weather has helped advance crop maturity, but we now seem to be in a cooler, wetter cycle. That’s problematic on a number of fronts. Some areas have received heavy rain that’s lodging crops and re-introducing excess water problems. Hailstorms have also been common. Beyond that, the longer crops hang green, the bigger the threat of frost. Everybody remembers 2004 when a huge chunk of the grain belt had a killing frost on August 20. Some field pea crops are nearing maturity and a few were being combined, but harvest is now delayed. Some lentil crops have been desiccated while others have been swathed. Crop quality is likely to deteriorate as the weather conditions prevent drying. Hopefully, this cool, damp spell will be short lived. Otherwise, it could be costly. I’m Kevin Hursh.