The province is over two-thirds of the way through harvest as the provincial crop report has progress at 68 per cent complete, up from 53 per cent last week.
Compared to the five (83 per cent) and ten year averages (72 per cent), it is behind. While most producers made a considerable amount of progress, rain and high humidity slowed down farmers in the eastern and western parts of Saskatchewan.
Crops Extension Specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture Tyce Masich says the rain affected the east-central region more than the west. He says the humidity creates challenges when combining.
"(Crops) have to be dry enough to go through the combine otherwise you'll see plugging and if there's high humidity the crop, whether its in a swath or still standing, will just naturally have a bit more moisture content to it which can cause problems as it goes through the combine." he said.
The southwest is 80 per cent done harvest, the southeast 70 per cent, the northwest at 69 per cent, the west-central 65 per cent, the northeast 61 per cent and the east-central is at 59 per cent complete.
Harvest for winter wheat and fall rye is done and field peas are almost done at 99 per cent combined, as well as lentils at 96 per cent. Among spring cereals, barley is 86 per cent harvested, durum 78 per cent, spring wheat 73 per cent, and oats 70 per cent. Many farmers are focused on canola as 42 per cent of the crop is now in the bin, while mustard is 62 per cent combined, soybeans 23 per cent, and flax at 18 per cent.
The Rhien area in the east-central region had the most rain at 44 millimetres this past week, while the Carnduff and Blaine Lake areas had 20 mm, and the Calder area had 18 mm.
The minimal moisture led to a small decline in topsoil moisture conditions.
Crop land moisture is two per cent surplus, 59 per cent adequate, 32 per cent short and seven per cent very short. Hay land moisture is three per cent surplus, 51 per cent adequate, 29 per cent short, and 17 per cent very short. Pasture topsoil moisture is two per cent surplus, 40 per cent adequate, 36 per cent short and 22 per cent very short.
Masich says areas with adequate soil moisture are in the eastern half of the province, while the northwest and southwest are areas with short or very short moisture.
He also says pasture conditions across the province also decreased slightly since August. One per cent of pastures are in excellent condition, 31 per cent in good condition, 39 per cent in fair condition, 20 per cent in poor condition and nine per cent are in very poor condition.
Crop damage for this past week amounted to wind, dry conditions, and mostly waterfowl with the presence of geese, cranes and other birds.
As harvest continues, Masich again stresses the importance of staying safe and being prepared in case of an emergency.
"Last week, there were a couple of combine fires around the Rosetown area so thankfully nobody was hurt from my understanding but fire risk is very real this time of year as producers are working on dry stubble, so I encourage them to blow out chaff from combines, have fire extinguishers, tillage equipment and water trucks on stand-by." he said.
The public is also reminded to exercise caution when around machinery on the road.
