LAKELAND - County of St. Paul Reeve Steve Upham is optimistic as he, and many other farmers in the region, head into one of the busiest stretches of the growing season.
With harvest just underway, Upham, who farms in the western portion of the county, says he's noticed some swathing has begun, and haying appears to be nearly wrapped up.
“We’ve been subjected to some rather unique weather,” acknowledges the reeve, speaking with Lakeland This Week on Sept. 10. While farmers have been graced with some nice days, there have also been some rainy days that set things back slightly.
But, some of the earlier crops, such as peas, are being harvested, along with the earlier seeded cereals.
Upham notes that the St. Paul region has been rather lucky compared to some of the regions farther to the north where flooding was experienced this spring. He also notes there have been some challenges for farmers around crops being at various stages due to late germination in low lying areas due to wet weather.
“It’s going to present some challenges,” says Upham. Overall there seems to be a pretty good yield coming off the fields, he adds.
Of course, conditions can change rather quickly, but so far "wheat and oats are going to be shinning stars" for farmers this season, while canola and barley appear to be a bit more variable, says the reeve.
"I wish everybody a successful harvest," says Upham.
