Rain, snow and cold temperature continue to put a damper on combining plans.

Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly crop report estimates 68 percent of the provincial crop had been combined as of Monday. That is up only six percent from the previous week.

Portions of the northern grainbelt avoided last weekend’s snow and rain, which allowed some crop to be taken harvested in the Turtleford, Meadow Lake, Leask and Prince Albert regions.

“The canola and wheat came off fairly tough and damp,”says Daphne Cruise, an extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. “Producers took it back to the yard and and are dealing with it through grain drying there.”

The northwest sits at 27 percent combined, up from 17 percent during the previous week. The northeast moved to 34 percent, up from 29 percent.

The harvest stalled at just under 60 percent in central areas, which received snow last weekend. Regions south of Saskatoon picked up as much as 10 to 15 centimetres.

Recent rain and snow will likely hurt crop quality by causing bleaching, staining and possibly sprouting.

“When a crop lodges, we don’t tend to see it to dry out as well. It also makes it more difficult for combine headers to pick it off the ground,” say Cruise.

An October harvest is not unusual, but there are growing concerns about long range weather forecasts calling for another two weeks of much colder than normal temperatures.

The additional moisture is being welcomed by farmers who have finished harvest in dry southern areas of the province. Provincial topsoil moisture conditions on cropland have improved to 58 percent adequate, 32 percent short and only six percent very short.

You can check out the entire region-by-region crop report at http://publications.gov.sk.ca/documents/20/108703-Crop%20Report%20for%20the%20Period%20September%2018%20to%2024,%202018%20-%20complete.pdf