After waiting what seemed like forever for summer to start, somehow it already seems to have come to an end. Peak summer in our region was very hot and quite dry, but rains seemed to come just as we were getting to really need them. Once the combines started rolling on the winter wheat crop, that seemed to change and we began to get some fairly regular showers. From what I hear, that has us as some of the fortunate ones in the province this year.

Wheat yields were strong throughout the region I feel, mostly thanks to our favourable fall last year, and hay yields were also quite good in the end, leaving most with plenty of good quality feed. As I write this, we have a few neighbours getting started on their corn silage harvest as well. Soybeans have begun to turn and a few of the early fields will likely be harvested very soon, but with that said, there are still plenty of bean fields that are very green leaving many waiting and some questioning wheat planting dates for this fall. Personally, I don’t expect to be into our beans until late September at the earliest.

There was lots of activity around Bruce County this summer, which no doubt had something to do with how short the summer season felt. The county was once again host to the Ontario Forage Expo, which despite a less-than-ideal weather forecast, saw a very strong attendance and I felt was a great success, even if the equipment demo portion of the day couldn’t proceed quite as planned.

Our mystery bus tour was a great day again this year, with plenty of very interesting stops and some delicious beef at the end of the tour courtesy of Harley’s Pub and Perk. For me, the two highlights of the day would have been the nitrogen application robot and all of the advancements that have been made to it within the last year, as well as learning about and watching a manure irrigation system on a local dairy farm. Once again, we had a bus lined up to transport everyone between stops which led to lots of time to catch up with fellow farmers between stops.

Before we know it, the harvest season will have come and gone and we will be back into winter meeting season. Mark your calendars for our AGM which is scheduled to be held January 15; more details will follow as we get closer to the date. You also won’t want to miss Grey Bruce Farmers Week being held January 7-12. I hope to see everyone at both of these events as they are always full of good company, information and, of course, food!

I wish everyone a safe and prosperous harvest season. Until next time.

Thomas Farrell

President of Bruce County Soil and Crop