Harvest answers

If the weather forecast is correct, we’re finally going to get a spell of good harvest weather. Whether the results are good or bad, harvest progress will gradually help end all the uncertainty. What sort of yield is actually out there? How badly has quality been hurt by the wet weather? How severe is the frost damage? Is there going to be a crop insurance claim? Results to date show a huge range in quantity and quality over just a short distance. It’s hard to build a marketing plan when you don’t know what you have to work with. In some cases, producers are worried about meeting their contract requirements for crops that have been pre-sold. In other cases, producers will be looking at crop processing such as colour sorting in an effort to improve quality. Every producer lives in dread that when good harvesting weather finally arrives, untimely equipment breakdowns will cause further delays. It’ll feel good to make some substantial progress rather than just a few hours here and there. Uncertainty is hard on the nerves. I’m Kevin Hursh.