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Dry week moves harvest closer in latest Saskatchewan crop report

Saskatchewan is moving closer to harvest after a dry week, especially in the southwest as some areas have already begun.

Rain and some higher temperatures caused a drying effect across the province for southern regions, while those in the north had some moisture come down.

Crops extension specialist Matthew Struthers says the blast of heat into the south is going to help out with the drying of crops down there.

"That skip out on rain certainly helped out a lot of producers down in the southwest and parts of the west-central regions continue their harvest and continue the spraying of their desiccants. The dry period of weather will certainly help turn crops in the southeast and part of the east-central regions that missed out as well."

Hay harvest is well underway, with yields from that so far going well, especially compared to last year.

"Hay yields, of course, have rebounded quite well in the eastern regions up into the north and certain parts of the west-central and the southwest are seeing better hay fields than they did last year," said Struthers, "But certainly they are well below their normal average.

The amount of moisture as a whole that's in the soils for pasture and cropland is dropping, but Struthers believes it's enough for most crops.

"Even though we got a good rain this week, we're still seeing a good declining trend in topsoil moisture across the province, for both cropland and hay and pasture, said Struthers, "Still very good numbers, still a lot of surplus and still  a lot of adequate there  to carry crops into harvest this year but every little bit helps, especially in the dryer regions."

No major damage was reported, though grasshopper populations seem to be rising slightly in some regions.

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