The Saskatchewan harvest accelerated this past week but remains behind the previous year and well back of average.
Thursday's weekly crop report showed the provincewide harvest at 11% complete as of Monday. That compares to 4% a week earlier, and the five- and 10-year averages of 25% and 21%.
Last year at this time, 12% of the crop was in the bin.
Harvest progress varied widely by region. The Southwest was furthest along at 27% complete, followed by the Southeast at 11% and West-central region at 8%. East-central Saskatchewan was 5% harvested, while the Northeast and Northwest were each just 1% complete.
Warm daytime temperatures and cooler evenings helped crops mature across much of the province, while generally dry conditions supported fieldwork. However, rainfall, strong winds and periods of high humidity slowed operations in some areas. Later-seeded crops are now beginning to turn, with harvesting expected to expand soon, the report added..
Producers continued to focus on winter cereals, pulses and other early seeded crops. Fall rye harvest was 69% complete and winter wheat 60%. Among pulses, lentils were 48% harvested and field peas 44%.
Spring cereal harvest was further behind, with barley at 16% done, oats 7%, durum 5%, canary seed 2% and spring wheat just 1%.
Oilseed harvest remained in its early stages. Soybeans were 7% complete, mustard 2% and canola 1%.
Rainfall was highly variable. The Round Hill area received the largest amount at 81 mm, followed by Emerald at 76 mm and Meeting Lake at 68 mm.
Despite the warm weather, provincial topsoil moisture conditions changed little. Cropland moisture was rated 4% surplus, 49% adequate, 37% short, and 10% very short.
Dry conditions remained the main source of crop damage, although losses were generally limited. Localized damage from strong winds, sclerotinia stem rot and bertha armyworms in canola was also reported, along with isolated aphid and gopher damage.
See the full crop report here:
https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/128638/formats/156612/download
