Wild rice producers in northern Saskatchewan are currently harvesting what could possibly be the largest crop in the province’s history.
The harvest is well underway in Saskatchewan, both on farms in the south and in lakes in the north.
Long-time wild rice farmer Lynn Riese says it’s the best he has ever seen. Some producers have already finished their harvest, while others like Riese are only about half done, said Riese, who is also chair of the Saskatchewan Wild Rice Growers.
Riese says he likes what he says coming in.
“Well I think they are holding out good, they are starting out this year better than they did last year,” he said. “There is an awful lot of wild rice out there, and hopefully the yields stay pretty high.”
Riese says it has been kind of a mixed-up year for the harvest because the growing season was disrupted by the northern forest fires. Production at the processing plant saw delays because of that.
He says the plant will handle more than 3 million pounds of rice this year, which would be a record. The total production record for the province was set in 2002 at 4.4 million pounds.
The wild rice advisor for the provincial department of agriculture, Bill Plunz, says that record could also fall if production holds up in north-east Saskatchewan.
“I know that they had a few more high water problems this spring and I know they are harvesting and what they are harvesting is looking good, but record-wise, it will have to go a little ways yet,” he says.
Northern Saskatchewan provides most of Canada’s wild rice crop, and the industry employs First Nations people almost exclusively. Wild rice was introduced into the province in the 1930s, not as a marketable commodity, but rather as a food source for muskrats to benefit the trapping industry. Commercial production did not begin until the 1960s and was restricted to local trappers.
In 1981 it was opened to all northern residents. There are now more than 200 wild rice growers in northern Saskatchewan.