Saskatchewan Harvest Well Ahead of Five-Year Average

Aug 06, 2021

Harvest operations are underway around the province with three per cent of the crop now combined, that's well ahead of the five-year average of less than one percent at this time of year.

Another three per cent of the crop is ready to straight cut, that number continues to increase as crops are drying down rapidly.

There was minimal rainfall throughout the province this past week, with many areas receiving none.

Crops Extension Specialist Matt Struthers says the minimal rain and hot temperatures continues to take its toll on topsoil moisture conditions:

"Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as three per cent adequate. So that's very, very low. That means that the majority of soils across the province don't actually have enough moisture in them to support crop life or any growth, and that's why we're seeing them dry down so quick. Thirty-one per cent is rated as short and 66 per cent is very short. So, no surprise there. Hay and pasture land is rated as two per cent adequate, 25 per cent short and 73 per cent very short."

He says without any moisture, they're just, kind of capped out.

"The moisture is really, really low. The crops are quickly ripening up, but of course there's still variation across fields. You know, half a field might be ready to straight combine, but the other half is still lagging behind, so it's gonna be a bit of a tricky harvest for some farmers."

He notes crops and pastures are drying down more and more every day.

"Pasture land is rated as two per cent adequate, 25 per cent short and 73 per cent very short. So what that means for hay and pasture land is, you know, hay land isn't going to have enough moisture to regrow for a second cut. That's going to reduce the feedstocks going into the winter for livestock producers. Then also for pastures, the pasture grass just can't bounce back as quickly as it should, or usually does. The question now is, has it been through such a rough time this year, will it recover by next year?"

Struthers says a large portion of the province hasn't received a significant rain since the beginning of June.

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Video: How sustainable is Canadian agriculture at producing cereals, pulses & oilseeds?

Canadians have continued to move further and further away from food production. We can see this in our expanding urban centers and less individuals growing the food we consume. This has led to more discussions about consuming food that is more sustainable. Not only sustainable environmentally, but also economically and socially. The Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan, was tasked in 2022 with understanding agriculture’s contributions to improved sustainable outcomes. As a part of this, GIFS has examined the carbon footprint of agricultural production in Saskatchewan and Canada and compared that to other producers across the globe. Dr. Steven Webb, who is the CEO of the Global Institute for Food Security in Saskatoon SK walks through how we’re doing growing cereals, pulses and oilseeds based on the latest research.