Saskatchewan harvest ahead of 5-year average as field conditions worsen

Farmers in Saskatchewan are well ahead of the five-year harvest average due to warm and dry weather.

Saskatchewan Agriculture reported Thursday 16 per cent of the 2018 crop is in the bin, up from five per cent the previous week, with 22 per cent swathed or ready to straight-cut.

The five-year average for this time of year is seven per cent combined.

Nearly one-third of the crop has been harvested in the southwest, while the southeast region nearing one-quarter combined.

Producers are at 13 per cent in the west central region, and seven per cent in east central. Most farmers in the north expected to be in the field within the next week, where no more than four per cent of the crop is in the bin.

Most of the fall rye is in the bin, along with a majority of winter wheat, field peas, and lentils.

Three per cent of the canola crop is combined, with another 29 per cent swathed or ready to straight-cut.

Yields vary greatly, depending on moisture received in the past few months.

“Yields are really all over the map this year. We really had a lot of scattered showers and that has caused a lot of problems for us this year,” said Shannon Friesen, a crops extension specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture.

“We’ve heard yields anywhere from above average to even well below, just miles apart. It really depended on who got the rainfall and at what time,” said Friesen

Friesen said the quality of the crops are in good condition.

“Because it has been dry, we’re not seeing a lot of issues such as bleaching, staining and sprouting, that we typically would when it does actually rain in the fall.”

Topsoil conditions continue to worsen, with little to no rain reported across the province in the past week.

Cropland topsoil moisture is rated 25 per cent adequate, 44 per cent short and 31 per cent very short.

Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated 17 per cent adequate, 35 per cent short and 48 per cent very short.

Many southern and central areas have not received significant rainfall in close to two months and crops continue to rapidly dry down.

The lack of moisture is also affecting pastures and hay crops and there are concerns of feed shortages in drier areas.

Pasture conditions are currently rated as 17 per cent good, 28 per cent fair, 29 per cent poor and 26 per cent very poor.

The majority of reported crop damage was due to lack of moisture and warm temperatures, and strong wind blew swaths around.

Frost was also reported in some areas of the province, but damage is expected to be minimal due to the advanced stages of the crop.

-With files from Global’s Rebekah Lesko