Snow, Rain Ends Canada's Unusual Harvest Season

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Snow and rain may have put an end to the unusual harvest season in Canada's grainbelt, leaving about 10 percent of the crop left in fields, a Canadian Wheat Board official said on Tuesday.

As much as 18 centimeters (7 inches) of snow has covered fields in northern Alberta, with 15 cm at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan -- snow cover that may not melt if cold weather persists, Environment Canada said.

"The prospects for it going away quickly are somewhat remote," said Bruce Burnett, director of weather and crop surveillance for the CWB.

"In certain areas, if the weather forecast is accurate, it marks the end of the season," Burnett said.

It was a challenging year for farmers, who got off to a late start because of rain.

Ample moisture and cool weather fooled many into hopes for bumper yields, only to be dashed when rain didn't stop and crop maturity lagged.

An unusually early and widespread frost in August damaged crop quality.

Harvest was delayed by as much as a month before farmers got three weeks of near-perfect harvest weather in late September and early October.

Last week, the weather turned unsettled, halting harvest.

"It really would have been nice to have had another week of good weather," Burnett said.

Snow covered most areas west of Manitoba on Tuesday, Environment Canada meteorologist Wayne Miskolczi said.

"It looks like January here, it's terrible," he said.

Lighter accumulations of snow in the southern Prairies may melt if weather becomes warmer and drier next week, as forecast, Miskolczi said. But he said thick snow cover in the northern grainbelt may stay.

"For the type of year we've had, I guess maybe this shouldn't come as a surprise," Miskolczi said.

In Saskatchewan, the largest crop-growing province, 10 percent of spring wheat was left in fields as of Sunday, along with 12 percent of durum, 14 percent of canola, 21 percent of oats, and 54 percent of flax, according to a government crop report.

Quality of unharvested cereal crops is likely marginal, Burnett said.

If the weather improves, Manitoba farmers may be able to put another dent in their remaining harvest, while farmers in the southern Prairies may have a chance to do some more fall field work, Burnett said.

But in the wettest areas of northern Alberta, northeastern Saskatchewan and eastern Manitoba, farmers may have to wait until next spring to finish harvest and apply fertilizer.

That could push back seeding dates next year, depending on the weather, Burnett said.