Agriculture minister kicks off 2025 harvest

WATCH: According to the latest weekly provincial crop report, widespread precipitation in Saskatchewan last week had varying impacts on crops.

Minister of Agriculture Daryl Harrison and Kelvington-Wadena MLA Chris Beaudry kicked off the 2025 harvest season with a press conference near Clair, Sask. earlier this week.

“Everybody has high expectations, but until it’s in the bins and in sound condition, storable condition, I don’t really want to speculate on that,” Minister Harrison told reporters Tuesday. “But I’m very optimistic. It’s going to be overall a very good harvest.”

Kelvington-Wadena MLA and farmer Chris Beaudry told CTV News that he will begin harvesting at the end of the week.

He said he is optimistic, but his season was not without challenges. Like other producers, he was most concerned by moisture levels.

“We had a lack of moisture last fall, and our spring melt went quick,” he explained.

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Luckily, Mother Nature did send some last-minute help.

“We ended up with one very good-timed rain in late June, early July and without that, things would have been disastrous,” Beaudry said.

Roughly 130 kilometers east of Beaudry’s lands, near Sturgis, Sask., another producer says they also experienced a fairly dry season.

“Well, up here, we didn’t get a lot of rain,” Tyler Peniuk told CTV News. “But it seems like it came at the right time because as far as I can tell, things look pretty good.”

Peniuk said they have a couple of things to do before they begin harvesting, but they are on schedule.

“There have been years that we were desiccating prior to this, but this year, I think it’s kind of average. Crops have been hanging on a little longer, which usually means more yield.”

Once harvest begins, producers will stay busy well into the fall.

“Usually out here, we’re always done in like the first couple days of October,” Peniuk explained. “But, you know, that’s one thing you never know when you’re farming up here. We’re always battling winter.”

During the press conference on Tuesday, Minister Harrison warned about the burden the tumultuous period puts on farmers.

“There’s always a rush against the clock, Mother Nature, you know, with forecasts, the rush is on, and the push is hard to get that crop in the bin.”

He asks that farmers make use of resources like the Farm Stress Line (1-800-667-4442) when needed. The line is available 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

For those who are not about to hop in their combines and head out to their fields, the minister asks for patience when encountering slow-moving vehicles on the province’s roads and highways.