74% of Crops Planted in Saskatchewan

REGINA - May 28/02 - STAT -- Seeding of all crops has now advanced to 74% complete, according to the latest crop progress report from Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, just one point behind the recent five-year average.

Progress remains well off last year's pace, when 93% of the intended area had been planted by this time. Seeding progress varies with at least 70% of cereals and pulse crops seeded. Farmers have seeded less than 70% of oats, flax, canola, sunflowers and canary seed.

With seeding this advanced, attention is now focusing more sharply on daily temperature ranges and the amount of precipitation which can be expected. During the next five days, nearly all crop producing areas of Saskatchewan are expected to see highs in the low to mid 20s Celsius. Overnight lows are expected to dip under 10 degrees, but there appears to be no risk of frost. However, there is only a modest chance of showers most days.

This will allow soils to warm and promote germination. However, over 95% of the crop producing regions of Saskatchewan received below normal precipitation between April 1 and May 27. Accumulated precipitation during the period was less than 50mm in most of Saskatchewan, under 75mm in the southwestern corner.

Most distressing is the fact less than 25mm of precipitation was received in a vast area. It is bounded in the north by an arc from Melfort in the east, past Prince Alberta and North Battleford to the Alberta border. The regions stretches southward through Rosetown and Kindersley, almost all the was to Swift Current in the western part of the province. It runs midway between Saskatoon and Regina and arcs east of Wynyard before sweeping back to Melfort.

Nearly all that region is rated as extremely dry, while soil moisture conditions range between very low and low in most of the remainder of the province. One exception is southeastern Saskatchewan, where moisture conditions are rated as fair.

Last week, farmers in the southern grainbelt and the eastern side of the central grainbelt received moisture in the form of rain, snow and ice last week.

Topsoil moisture conditions on crop land are generally rated fair to good in the southern grainbelt. Central and northern regions of the province report topsoil moisture as mainly poor.

Crops are beginning to emerge in many areas with strong winds and freezing nighttime temperatures causing some crop damage. Many areas continue to experience soil erosion from the wind.

               Saskatchewan -- Seeding Progress to May 26
                        (per cent in the ground)
                 1998        1999        2000        2001        2002
Week Ending     May 31      May 29      May 27      May 26      May 25
Flaxseed         97.0        40.0        86.0        79.0        43.0
Canola           97.0        72.0        96.0        92.0        69.0
Spring Wheat     99.0        74.0        96.0        95.0        78.0
Durum Wheat     100.0        73.0        96.0        95.0        73.0
Oats             95.0        43.0        85.0        79.0        53.0
Barley           98.0        59.0        85.0        90.0        70.0
Rye             100.0        53.0        99.0        63.0        81.0
SOURCE: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Southern Saskatchewan experienced cool and windy conditions last week. Another May snowstorm provided an average of 13 mm of precipitation across the area, ranging from an average low of 9 mm reported in Crop District (CD) 1 to an average high of 24 mm reported in CD 4a. The winds continued to cause severe soil erosion.

Seeding is furthest advanced in the southwest at 84% complete, up from 70% complete last week. South central areas report 63% complete, up from 36% last week. Southeastern areas report 60% complete, up from 31% last week. Most crops are at least 60% planted, with the exception of oats, flax, sunflowers, and canary seed.

Topsoil moisture conditions on crop land improved across the southern grainbelt during the past week. Over 80% of reporters rate their moisture as fair to good, compared with 65% last week.

Growth is slow, but seeds are germinating and emerging. Some of these emerging crops have been damaged by the winds and blowing dirt as well as by frost. In the southeast there was some damage to spring and winter wheat from the freezing rain of the past week. In the southeast some winter wheat fields are being re-seeded to other cereal crops.

The central grainbelt was cool, windy, and generally dry during the past week. An average of 4 mm of precipitation was reported across the area, ranging from an average low of less than ½ mm reported in CD 7b to an average high of 10 mm reported in CD 5a. The winds continued to cause severe dust storms.

Seeding is furthest advanced in west central regions at 83% complete, up from 66% complete last week. Mid central areas report 70% complete, up from 38% last week. East central areas report 76% complete, up from 41% last week. Most crops are at least 60% planted, with the exception of oats, flax, and sunflowers.

Topsoil moisture conditions on crop land improved in east central areas during the past week. Over 50% of reporters rate their moisture as fair to good, compared with 41% last week. Mid central and west central reporters generally rate their crop land topsoil moisture as poor.

Frost damaged some newly emerged crops across the central grainbelt. Areas with snow cover were somewhat protected from the hardest frost of the week. Blowing dirt cut off emerging seedlings in some areas. Farmers are changing seeding plans as their soils continue to be dry. Some west central area farmers have re-seeded their crops because of soil erosion.

In northern crop districts, Saskatcheaan Aghriculture and Food reports the region experienced another week of cool, windy, and dry weather. An average of ½ mm of precipitation was reported across the area, with a few north central and northwestern areas reporting up to 5 mm. The winds continued to cause severe soil erosion.

Seeding is furthest advanced in the northeast at 84% complete, up from 54% complete last week. North central areas report 77% complete, up from 45% last week. Northwestern areas report 78% complete, up from 43% last week. Most crops are at least 60% planted, with the exception of durum, oats, mustard, and sunflowers. Farmers continue to wait for moisture to finish seeding the small-seed crops.

Topsoil moisture conditions on crop land deteriorated across the northern grainbelt during the past week. About 5% more reporters rated their moisture as poor compared with last week. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture also deteriorated slightly with about 2% more reporters giving ratings of poor (87%) compared with last week (85%).

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