Sask. farmers making progress, but harvest lags behind long-term averages

Saskatchewan farmers took advantage of warm weather over the past week to make good progress on harvest, but despite the headway, producers are still well behind the long-term averages.

According to the latest crop report from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, which covered the week ending on Monday, harvest is 11 per cent complete across the province, up from just four per cent the previous week. But that’s still well behind the five-year average of 25 per cent and the 10-year average of 21 per cent.

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“Harvest continued this week as producers focused on combining winter cereals, pulse crops and other early-seeded crops. Rainfall delayed on-farm operations in some regions, but crop maturity advanced across the province,” the ministry wrote in its report.

“Overall, crops are beginning to turn and harvest of later-seeded crops is expected to begin very soon.”

The quality of the harvested winter crop varies throughout the province, the ministry noted, due to differences in rainfall and growing conditions seen throughout the season.

While most parts of the province didn’t see much rain during the week covered by the report, which helped bring crops closer to maturity, the ministry noted that strong winds and dry conditions also caused crop damage in some areas, while high humidity left harvest stalled in other regions. Other sources of crop damage during the week covered by the report include sclerotinia stem rot and bertha armyworms in canola, while some producers also reported localized damage due to aphids and gophers.

In cropland, topsoil moisture levels were rated as four per cent surplus, 49 per cent adequate, 37 per cent short and 10 per cent very short. In hayland, topsoil moisture was rated as two per cent surplus, 48 per cent adequate, 38 per cent short and 12 per cent very short. In pastures, topsoil moisture levels were rated as two per cent surplus, 40 per cent adequate, 39 per cent short and 19 per cent very short.

“Pasture conditions have improved across many areas of the province in recent weeks, thanks to sufficient rainfall,” the ministry noted. “Provincially, three per cent of pastures are rated excellent, 39 per cent good, 42 per cent fair, 14 per cent poor and two per cent very poor.”

With harvest underway, producers were reminded to keep safety at the top of their minds, particularly when it comes to fire mitigation.

The full crop report can be found on the agriculture ministry’s website.