Saskatchewan Pulse Yields Keep Rising

VANCOUVER - Sep 14/13 - SNS -- Yields in Saskatchewan appear to me much higher than initially thought for peas, lentils and mustard, but lower for chickpeas and canaryseed, judging from data contained in the latest crop progress report from Saskatchewan Agriculture.

If Statistics Canada's direct survey of farmers confirms what Saskatchewan Agriculture's crop reporters are seeing, Canada will harvest its largest pulse crop in its history.

Output of peas, lentils, chickpeas and dry edible beans could total 5.814 million metric tons (MT), while total special crop output could reach 6.138 million MT. This is 500,000 MT more pulses than last year, which holds the previous record. Total special crop output could be up 468,000 MT.

Equally significant is the fact that hot and dry conditions since the middle of August has allowed farmers to harvest crops at a torrid pace. Mustard, lentil and field pea harvests had made above average progress as of September 9, while the pace of the chickpea and canaryseed harvests are behind normal for this time of year.

A faster harvest is erasing fear over an early frost event. Any remaining anxiety is further reduced by estimates of the percentage of each crop which are still maturing. Such crops are at varying stages of development and some could be hurt if a killing frost struck by the middle of the month. In Saskatchewan, less than 5% of the peas were immature as of September 9, compared to 15% of the lentils, and 29% of the mustard seed. Similar estimates were not available for canaryseed or chickpeas.