Looking for silver linings
Is the glass half full or half empty? As farmers across the province finally make some harvest progress, there are many reasons to be disappointed. In many cases, though, you can find silver linings. Like many southern farmers, I’m still combining lentils. Whenever you’re still combining lentils at the end of September, it isn’t good news. The quality is low and the crop is so flat that a lot of it is staying in the field. However, even with the harvest losses, the yield is good. Another silver lining is the massive increase in lentil prices. As long as the quality is good enough to stay out of the sample grade, lentils will still be a money maker. That’s more than I can say about my kabuli chickpeas. They look good from a distance, but the frost that started the evening of September 18th and continued well into the morning of the 19th has destroyed the quality. Most of the seeds are going to remain green. Unfortunately, there isn’t much of a market for green chickpeas. Even on St. Patrick’s Day, no one wants green hummus. The silver lining in this case will be the crop insurance coverage. The way things have gone, it’s easy to be depressed, but as much as possible a person might as well look on the bright side. I’m Kevin Hursh.