Saskatchewan Agriculture reports rain that fell through wide parts of the province over the past week was positive but, for the most advanced crops, it came too late to make a difference. Saskatchewan Agriculture released its crop report yesterday for the period from July 15th to 21st.Matt Struthers, a Cereal Crop Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture, says the impact of the added moisture is variable.
Quote-Matt Struthers-Saskatchewan Agriculture:
We saw some very good precipitation events across the province, mainly down in the southern half and up into the west central and parts of the north, some really good heavy rainfall in some areas that needed it quite drastically.For other areas that rain came just in time but many producers and fields were missed by that rain.
Still a really good shot of rain to see. We've had a couple of weeks of some good rain and hopefully that will carry a lot of that crop over into August and towards the harvest season.Obviously in the drier parts of the province here in Saskatchewan, a lot of that crop is a little too far advanced to really take advantage of this moisture but a lot of that crop that is still flowering and just getting into its seed and kernel development, that will be a really crucial rainfall to have occurred.
Along with the cooler weather we've experienced the last week, that's allowed that crop to kind of have a bit of relief from the heat here and use that moisture to give itself a good grounding as we move into some of the hotter days here on the forecast.That's very important but, overall, topsoil moisture has improved across the province after a few weeks of good shots of rain.That's very positive to see, especially in those areas that have been dry since the beginning of spring and especially for livestock producers and their pastures as well.
Struthers says farmers will be keeping a close watch on their crops and spraying fungicide as the weather permits and those with crops a little closer to maturity will be starting to get equipment ready for harvest.
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Source : Farmscape.ca