After the harvest stalled the week before, Saskatchewan producers made just incremental progress in the fields this past week.
The latest weekly crop on Thursday showed the provincewide harvest at 4% complete as of Monday, up only 2 points from a week earlier. That is still a single point ahead of last year, but well behind the five- and 10-year averages of 15% and 12%. It also represents the second slowest harvest rate of the past five years for this time of year.
Scattered showers and thunderstorms limited harvest windows last week, while early-morning humidity created poor desiccation conditions, the report said. Producers also reported that warmer temperatures are needed to push crops toward maturity.
The harvest in the Southwest region remains furthest ahead, with 9% of the crop harvested, followed by the Southeast at 4%, West-Central at 2% and East-Central at 1%.
Harvest activity has been concentrated in early seeded pulses and cereal crops. Fall rye was 44% harvested and winter wheat 33% complete. Among spring cereals, barley was 5% complete, oats 4%, and durum, spring wheat and canary seed each stood at 1%. Field pea harvest was 18% complete, while lentils were 13% done.
Rainfall was highly variable across Saskatchewan. Browning received 115 mm, Enniskillen 106 mm and Coalfields 102 mm, while some areas reported only trace amounts or no rain.
The showers provided some improvement in topsoil moisture, with 54% of cropland rated adequate. Another 37% was short and 7% very short, while 2% was considered surplus.
Crop damage during the week was mainly linked to dry conditions, disease and insect pressure, with some spraying reported in central and northern regions. Minor lodging, heat and wind damage were also noted, along with localized damage from gophers.
The full crop report is available here:
https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/128638/formats/156478/download
