Despite the wet summer Grey County Wheat producers are looking at almost record yields from their fields this summer as far as the winter wheat harvest is concerned.
Percy Harrison is the President of the Grey County Wheat Producers and says many producers are looking at harvesting anywhere from 70 to 100 bushels per acre, a harvest which he describes as phenomenal.
He says with prices up to 250 dollars a tonne for fall wheat and anywhere up to 300 dollars a tonne for spring wheat local farmers could be looking at some impressive returns this fall.
However Harrison says one problem that the producers will be facing is the fact the wheat is coming off the field with moisture content in the 16 to 20 per cent range.
That means producers will be facing the additional expense of having the grain dried at the local elevators before being sent out to the Great Lakes Elevator in Owen Sound for shipment.
Harrison says with the high cost of propane and natural gas that could take away from some of the returns the producers were expecting.
He says another bit of good news for the wheat producers is there are no signs of any major disease impacting the crop, although the wet weather about a month ago produced ideal conditions for the development of fusarium, a fungus disease that attack the wheat crop.
Harrison says however that did not develop as it appears more and more farmers are using treatments to protect their crops.
