Saskatchewan Agriculture reports, although rains over the past couple of weeks have delayed harvest, the moisture is benefitting livestock producers and improving soil conditions for next year.
Saskatchewan Agriculture's latest crop report, released last week, indicates cold wet weather has slowed harvest progress but progress still remains ahead of the five year average.
Daphne Cruise, a Crops Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, says although the rain has slowed harvesting progress and is affecting the quality of crops still being harvested the moisture is being welcomed, especially by livestock producers in the driest parts of the province.
Clip-Daphne Cruise-Saskatchewan Agriculture:
If there's one good thing and one silver lining about this rain delay, it is that it has significantly helped topsoil moisture conditions, particularly in those very dry areas in the west central and southern parts of the province.
Livestock producers in particular are very happy to see all of this moisture, especially coming off of two years now of some very dry conditions for pasture and some below average yields for hay.
Our crop reporters have indicated that pastures are responding to the moisture and even greening up despite our cool temperatures.
That is definitely a sigh of relief for our livestock producers going into winter and it will help the topsoil moisture reserves going into winter for the cropland as well.
We'll have to see what kind of snow the winter brings.
Right now it's replenishing topsoil moisture.
I don't think there's quite enough there to get to the subsoil yet but hopefully we get some winter snowfall and that will help replenish going into next year's crop.
Cruise says according to the forecasts it will be slow going for the next couple of weeks.
She says, even if it stays cool, the rain needs to stop, the sun needs to come out and some wind would also help dry the crops and allow farmers to get back out onto the fields.
Source : farmscape