Harvest more than two-thirds done in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan’s harvest is rolling right along.

The Ministry of Agriculture’s weekly crop report said 68 per cent of this year’s crop was in the bin as of Monday, up from 51 per cent last week. The five-year average for this time of year is 52 per cent, while the 10-year average is 48 per cent.

Farmers in the southwestern part of the province were 93 per cent done harvest as of Monday, with those in the west-central region close behind at 78 per cent. Harvest was more than half finished in the east-central (54 per cent) and northeast (55 per cent) areas of Saskatchewan, while farmers in the northwest were up to 39 per cent.

The harvest of field peas and lentils was nearly done, with 96 per cent of each of those crops in the bin. Among spring-seeded cereals, 88 per cent of durum crops had been combined, followed by barley (86 per cent), spring wheat (75 per cent) and oats (58 per cent).

Farmers were nearly done with the triticale harvest — 99 per cent of the crop was off — but the report noted that 89 per cent of the harvested triticale is to be used as livestock feed.

The drought experienced in many areas of the province this year has affected the supply of feed, prompting the provincial and federal governments to offer assistance to ranchers.

Rain around the province during the week stalled combines, and didn’t do much to improve topsoil moisture levels.

In cropland, moisture levels remained unchanged from the previous week, with 35 per cent having adequate moisture, 41 per cent considered short and 24 per cent rated as very short. Twenty-nine per cent of hay and pasture land had adequate moisture, while 42 per cent was rated short and 29 per cent was very short.

The crop damage reported to the ministry over the week was caused by light frosts in the north, drought conditions in the south and grasshoppers.