Snow puts kink in harvesting plans for some southern Alberta farmers

The recent Alberta snowfall has put a temporary halt to a lot of harvest plans in rural areas across the province as farmers are forced to wait for warm weather to dry swathed and standing crops.

The white stuff has forced Madden-area farmer Greg Hawkwood to sit on the sidelines this week, waiting for warmer weather and a chance to get back on his fields to remove his grain crops.

"If we don't get a chinook and a chinook wind, then it's at least 10 days before we can even think of harvesting," Hawkwood told CBC News.

He's not alone.

Lynn Jacobson with the Alberta Federation of Agriculture estimates nearly a third of the province's crops still need to be harvested.

He says some farmers may have to wait until the end of the month to finish the job, and assess possible losses.

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"They haven't lost that yield but they've just lost the quality of that grain, and that's where the dollar figure will come in, or that's where the financial hit will take place," Jacobson explained.

As Hawkwood waits for the snow to melt and his crops to dry, he's taking this latest offering from Mother Nature in stride, saying it could have been worse.

"For me, I think the moisture is a lot better than being in a drought."

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