Harvest is proceeding in dry areas of west-central and southwest Saskatchewan, while other regions wait for crops to mature.
Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly crop report says five per cent of the provincial crop has been combined, which is behind the five-year average of eight per cent.
Most of the combining has been done in the southwest at 17 per cent and west-central at 8 per cent. Yields for early lentils are below to well below normal due to dry growing conditions. Many producers are concerned about poor soil moisture levels in west-central. Crop District 6B—which includes Blaine Lake, Biggar, Saskatoon and Outlook—is one of the driest in the province. Crop reporters indicate many RM’s have received less than 200 millimetres or eight inches of rain since the the beginning of April. Cropland topsoil moisture in the west-central region is rated as 36 per cent adequate, 48 per cent short and 16 per cent very short.
West-central hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is 30 per cent adequate, 50 per cent short and 20 per cent very short. Some livestock producers are having to bring in water while others are testing their dugouts to make sure the water is safe to drink.
Moving over to the east-central region, the issue there is crop development. Producers in Crop Districts 5A and 5B (Yorkton, Wynyard, Kelvington) says most crops will not be ready until the first week of September. Most growers are anticipating average to above average yields, but frost is a major worry. The majority of crop damage over the past week is due to lodging—caused by strong winds and heavy rain. Cropland topsoil moisture in east-central is rated five per cent surplus, 76 per cent adequate, 16 per cent short and four per cent very short.
Harvest has not started in the northeast and is likely one to two weeks away for most producers. Storms last week also caused some crop damage. Humboldt had 83 millimetres of rain, Tisdale 52 and Prince Albert 43 millimetres. Lodging and hail were the two main sources of crop damage last week. Topsoil moisture on cropland in the northeast is three per cent surplus, 87 per cent adequate and ten per cent short.
Harvest has not started in the northwest either with the majority of crops maturing slowly. Desiccants have been applied on some pulse crops. Producers are noting that crop disease has been higher than previous years, even in fields with more than one fungicide application. This is likely due to wetter, more humid conditions. Cropland topsoil moisture in the southwest is seven per cent surplus, 79 per cent adequate and 15 per cent short.
