Nelson Zandbergen
Farmers Forum
MORRISBURG — When all was said and done, Eastern Ontario’s wheat crop came in much better than average during last month’s harvest.
“It’s certainly one of the better crops we’ve ever grown,” said Dwight Foster, of North Gower Grains.
“The winter wheat harvest had some quality issues, but the spring wheat harvest has been spectacular. The yields were phenomenal, both for the grain and the straw. It was one of those years where it was a good choice to grow some wheat.”
In Morrisburg, crop farmer Warren Schneckenburger reported having his greatest ever winter wheat harvest “by a long shot,” with an average yield of 130 bushels per acre. “Which is crazy,” Schneckenburger observed.
The harvest shattered the farm’s previous record of between 105 and 110 bushels per acre, he said. “We had the perfect weather for winter wheat. We had cool and wet conditions in June, which is what winter wheat likes.”
That allowed grain fill to last 38 to 40 days this year, compared with the 29 to 30 days of 2021, he said. “So, it’s a lot more time to pack starch and weight. It definitely materialized into yield.” Crop quality was “phenomenal,” Schneckenburger added. “It was a good weight and no fusarium that I’ve seen anyway. I have heard of a little bit of fusarium more towards Ottawa but nothing down in Morrisburg.”
Prices were “very good” as well, “depending on when you sold,” he chuckled. “You certainly had the opportunity to sell for the highest-ever price this year.”
However, even the boldest farmer wouldn’t have pre-sold 30% more wheat than they expected to yield — as was the case this year. “But it’s hard to complain about not selling that extra yield at the highest price,” he said.
