Sask. harvest 27 per cent complete, far behind long-term averages

Harvest is more than a quarter complete across Saskatchewan, but a difficult season has put the province’s farmers well behind the long-term averages.

According to the latest crop report from the Ministry of Agriculture, which covered the week ending on Monday, harvest is 27 per cent complete in the province thanks to good progress on winter cereals, pulses and other early seeded crops. That’s a big jump from the 18 per cent completion reported last week, but producers are quite a ways behind the five-year average of 58 per cent and the 10-year average of 50 per cent.

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The rainfall seen over the past seven days isn’t helping things, either.

“Large amounts of precipitation were recorded throughout the province and field work will be on hold until it is dry enough to continue,” the ministry wrote in its report.

“Fields are generally saturated in many regions and producers are hoping for warm, dry weather going forward.”

The RM of Longlaketon saw 138 millimetres of rain during the week ending on Monday, the ministry noted, while 132 mm of rain fell in the RM of Eyebrow.

The excess moisture and some small pockets of hail were responsible for the majority of the crop damage reported in the past week, the ministry said, and producers are voicing worries about grain quality, bleaching and sprouting.

“Producers continue to swath and desiccate crops as conditions allow,” the ministry explained. “Other activities like baling greenfeed and hauling bales continue as producers wait for things to dry so they can get back into the combines.”

But while the rain put a damper on harvest operations, it did help improve topsoil moisture conditions across the province, the ministry said.

In cropland, topsoil moisture was rated as 33 per cent surplus, 58 per cent adequate, seven per cent short and two per cent very short. In hayland, topsoil moisture levels were 23 per cent surplus, 64 per cent adequate, 10 per cent short and three per cent very short. In pastures, topsoil moisture was rated as 15 per cent surplus, 66 per cent adequate, 16 per cent short and three per cent very short.

Fall cereal crops are furthest ahead when it comes to harvest progress, the ministry said, with 94 per cent of the fall rye crop in the bin, followed by 87 per cent of winter wheat.

When it comes to pulses, 84 per cent of lentils have been harvested, along with 79 per cent of the field pea crop and 24 per cent of chickpeas.

Among spring cereals, triticale is furthest ahead this harvest, with 79 per cent of the crop in the bin, followed by barley (41 per cent), durum (38 per cent), oats (14 per cent), spring wheat (13 per cent) and canary seed (11 per cent).

Half of Saskatchewan’s mustard crop has been harvested, the ministry noted, but oilseeds were rounded out by lower numbers, with nine per cent of the canola crop, seven per cent of the soybean crop and three per cent of the flax crop in the bin.