Heavenly harvest season nearing end in Ontario

Ontario farmers couldn’t ask for much better weather to complete the first major harvest of the season — beans.

“These past couple weeks have been just perfect. Ideal. But, if you look ahead to the future, starting tomorrow, and into next week, it’s looking a little wet. So, we’re just taking advantage as much as we can,” explained Huron County bean and corn producer, Mike Colclough.

Combines have been rolling fast and hard since last week as farmers try and take advantage of perfect harvesting conditions. Dry fields and sunshine are not only helping the beans, but pushing corn fields to catch up as well.

“Corn is behind. It is catching up. It’s loving this weather. It’s definitely still green corn fields out there in the countryside. It’s a few hundred heat units behind, so we’ll take all the sun we can get,” said Colclough.

A combine harvests beans near Clinton, Ont. on Oct. 4, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

Combines will be rolling full tilt across Ontario until the rain arrives, which could come as early as Thursday evening. Colclough said it might then be awhile before the corn harvest gets underway.

“A lot of corn went in early, so maybe this month, end of this month. But, I bet you won’t see combines rolling again until November,” he said.

Until then, Ontario’s “heavenly” harvest will carry on, in earnest since days like this in October are a gift for food producers, like Colclough, who spent his 20th wedding anniversary planting winter wheat, because when the sun shines, Ontario harvest season doesn’t stop for anything.