With the recent rainfall across the province in the past week, crop development has improved. The warm and wet weather was welcomed in areas that were experiencing moisture stress.
Eighty-eight per cent of fall cereals, 60 per cent of spring cereals, 56 per cent of oilseeds and 70 per cent of pulse crops are at or ahead of their normal stages of development for this time of year, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Weekly Crop Report.
"However, in southeastern Saskatchewan the numbers are a little bit different. 72 percent of the fall cereals are at their normal stage and 19 percent are ahead of the game. Spring cereals are at about 67 percent, oilseeds at 60 percent and pulse crops at 66 percent. They're somewhat similar, but just a little difference between the southeastern and provincial averages for that," shared Brent Flaten, an Integrated Pest Management Specialist with Agriculture Canada.
"A lot of that has to do with moisture. Depending on certain areas, some of the crops were stalling out because of a lack, and in some parts of the province there was harvest to be completed from last year too."
He noted, though, that things are doing pretty well overall.
Most of the province received rain in the past week, ranging from trace amounts to 112 mm, with a provincial average of 26 mm. Across the province, cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 10 per cent surplus, 68 per cent adequate, 18 per cent short and four per cent very short. Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as eight per cent surplus, 60 per cent adequate, 24 per cent short and eight per cent very short.
"Again, it varies depending on what part of southeast Saskatchewan you're in, but generally on the annual crop land the topsoil moisture is rating 9 percent surplus, 77 percent adequate, 12 percent short and 2 percent very short. For hayland and pasture, it's rated 9 percent surplus, 75 percent adequate, 13 percent short and 3 percent very short. You can see by those numbers that some areas even within southeastern Saskatchewan have gotten a lot more rain, and they are in a surplus situation, versus some west of Estevan and Weyburn are actually short of moisture. There's quite a wide range in topsoil moisture conditions for both hayland and cropland," Flaten explained.
Source : Discoverestevan