Some early harvesting of the 2026 crop is underway in Saskatchewan.
Thursday's weekly crop report estimated the provincewide harvest at 2% complete as of Monday. That is 1 point ahead of last year but on par with the five- and 10-year averages. All the progress to date has occurred in the province's Southwest region, where 5% of the crop was reported harvested. All other regions reported no harvest progress.
"Dry conditions throughout much of the growing season have prompted some producers to begin harvesting early seeded crops and winter cereals," the report said.
In terms of individual crops, fall rye and winter wheat were estimated at 21% and 7% harvested as of Monday, along with 1% of the spring wheat and barley, and 2% of the oats.
Warm temperatures and dry conditions accelerated crop development across much of Saskatchewan during the week, pushing early-seeded crops toward maturity, the report said. Rain would likely provide little benefit to those crops, although producers in some areas are still hoping for moisture to support grain fill in later-seeded fields, it added.
Most areas received little or no precipitation this past week. The largest rainfall total was reported near Milden at 31 millimetres, followed by Beaver River at 28 mm and Invermay at 20 mm.
Despite the limited rainfall, topsoil moisture remained adequate across more than half of the province. Cropland topsoil moisture was rated 2% surplus, 56% adequate, 33% short and 9% very short as of Monday.
Most crops were developing at a normal pace for this time of year. An estimated 86% of fall cereals, 71% of spring cereals, 65% of oilseeds, and 77% of pulse crops were rated at normal development. However, 29% of oilseeds and 22% of spring cereals were reported behind their usual development stage.
Pastures were generally rated in good to fair condition, although some were in poor condition due to persistent moisture shortages.
Minor to moderate crop damage was reported in areas affected by hot and dry weather. Wind, grasshoppers and bertha armyworms also caused minor damage in parts of the province, the report said.
The full report can be found here:
https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/128638/formats/156134/download
