Modest Harvest Progress in Saskatchewan

VANCOUVER - Sep 16/10 - SNS -- Overall, only 14% of all crops grown in Saskatchean are now in the bin, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture's latest weekly crop report.

Another 36% is swathed or ready to straightcombine. The five-year provincial average (2005 to 2009) for this time of year is 51% combined and an additional 30% swathed or ready to straight-combine.

Another week of significant rainfall in most areas of the province continues to delay harvest progress. The most progress was made in swathing canola; some field peas, canaryseed and chickpeas were combined. There were a couple days that allowed some producers to seed winter cereals.

The southwest has 25% of the crop combined; the southeast 22%; the northeast 8%, and the northwest 6%. The east-central and west-central regions have nine and 7% combined, respectively.

The majority of crop damage is being caused by rain, disease and wind. Below-zero temperatures were recorded in some areas of the province. Fields are very wet, making harvest difficult.

Following are the provincial agriculture department's comments by crop district:

Southeastern Saskatchewan (Crop Districts 1, 2, and 3ASE)

Farmers in some areas were able to get back into their fields and managed to combine an additional 3% over last week. About 22% of the crop is now combined and an additional 37% is swathed or ready to straight-cut. Last year at this time, 36% of the crop had been combined. Crop district (CD) 1A has 30% combined, CD 1B 14%, CD 2A 23%, CD 2B 19% and CD 3AS has 27% combined.

All areas received between 3 mm and 44 mm of rain for the week. Scattered showers throughout the week left little opportunity to combine. The Kisbey area recorded 44 mm, the Frobisher area 12 mm, the Whitewood area 9 mm, the Grenfell area 35 mm, the Weyburn area 6 mm, the Griffin area 41 mm, the Wilcox area 13 mm, the Indian Head area 38 mm, the Radville area 3 mm and the Ceylon area 15 mm. Most areas reported receiving more than 15 mm of rain.

Crop reporters are having difficulty assessing crop yields at this time due to excess moisture and disease; however, they have indicated the following average yields for the region: winter wheat 49 bu/ac, spring wheat 34 bu/ac, durum 31 bu/ac, oats 63 bu/ac, barley 52 bu/ac, fall rye 42 bu/ac, triticale 45 bu/ac, flax 21 bu/ac, canola 29 bu/ac, mustard 900 lb./ac, lentils 1,300 lb./ac, peas 32 bu/ac, canaryseed 1,200 lb./ac and chickpeas 1,300 lb./ac.

Crop damage is mostly attributed to the rain which has caused flooding, lodging and disease. High winds in some areas also caused crops to lodge. Sprouting, bleaching and staining in swathed/dessicated crops are also causing damage. With all the rain, farmers are concerned about crop quality and bushel weights. There are reports of some standing cereals beginning to sprout. Frost was reported in the Rocanville area.

Farmers are swathing and combining between rain showers. The crops that were combined tough are being aerated. Wet fields are a causing problems with the harvesting equipment. In some areas, swathed crops are sprouting. There is not very much fall seeding occurring. Wet fields are preventing producers from picking up hay bales.

Farmers are hauling bales and fixing fences while anxiously waiting to get back into the field.

Southwestern Saskatchewan (Crop Districts 3ASW, 3AN, 3B and 4)

The region made some harvest progress in between the rain showers. Twenty-5% of the crop is combined and an additional 23% is swathed or ready to straightcut.

Last year at this time, 65% of the crop had been combined. Crop districts 3ASW and 3BN have 26% combined, CD 3AN 24%, CD 3BS 28%, CD 4A 18% and CD 4B has 28% of the crop combined.

Scattered showers throughout the area left between 5 mm and 71 mm of rain. The Big Beaver area received 5 mm, the Glentworth area 42 mm, the Spring Valley area 24 mm, the Coderre area 48 mm, the Shaunavon area 14 mm, the Glenbain area 71 mm, the Tyner area 12 mm, the Rush Lake area 54 mm, the Consul area 10 mm, the Maple Creek area 27 mm, the Richmound area 7 mm and the Gull Lake area 34 mm. Most of the region reported more than 20 mm for the week.

Due to rain, crop disease and the small amount of crop that has been combined, crop reporters are having difficulty predicting yields. They are indicating the following average yields at this time: winter wheat 37 bu/ac, spring wheat 31 bu/ac, durum 33 bu/ac, oats 52 bu/ac, barley 48 bu/ac, fall rye 40 bu/ac, triticale 38 bu/ac, flax 21 bu/ac, canola 25 bu/ac, mustard 1,000 lb./ac, lentils 1,400 lb./ac, peas 28 bu/ac, canaryseed 1,400 lb./ac and chickpeas 1,000 lb./ac.

Crop damage has been caused by rain, disease and wind. Heavy rains have caused flooding, lodging, bleaching, sprouting and staining in crops. Frost damage was reported in the Shaunavon, Eastend and Consul areas. Crop damage from hail storms a few weeks ago is evident in the Richmound area. High winds in the Glenbain area blew some canola, mustard and lentil swaths around and caused cereals to lodge.

Farmers are busy trying to harvest, hauling bales and preparing bins. Frost is a concern.

Rain on desiccated/swathed pulses and cereals has farmers worried about crop quality.

Drying weather is needed. Crops that have been taken off in the past week are tough.

Grain aeration is proving difficult as nighttime humidity is high. Field access is an issue as roads are very soft. Grain trucks are being loaded on high ground or on the roads.

East-Central Saskatchewan (Crop Districts 5 and 6a)

The majority of the field work that took place last week consisted of swathing. The region has 9% of the 2010 crop in the bin. An additional 44% is swathed or ready to straight-cut. Last year at this time, 21% of the crop had been combined.

Crop District 5A has 7% combined, CD 5B 1% and CD 6A has 15% combined. Barley, wheat and canola were being combined tough and put into aeration.

The region received significant amounts of rain again this week. All crop reporters recorded rain in amounts ranging from 13 to 63 mm. Most areas reported more than 30 mm for the week, with the majority of it falling on Thursday and Friday. CD 5A received between 13 mm and 27 mm of rain; CD 5B received between 13 mm and 50 mm and CD 6A received between 17 mm and 63 mm. Since April 1, the region has received between 339 mm and 838 mm of rain. The Churchbridge area received 13 mm, the Kelliher area 34 mm, the Jedburgh area 52 mm, the Lintlaw area 33 mm, the Rama area 50 mm, the Craven area 17 mm, the Bulyea area 28 mm and the Nokomis area 63 mm.

Due to rain, crop disease and the small amount of crop that has been combined, crop reporters are having a difficult time predicting yields. Yields are very variable, depending on where and when the heavy rains fell. Crop reporters are indicating the following average crop yields at this time: winter wheat 40 bu/ac, spring wheat 30 bu/ac, durum 34 bu/ac, oats 61 bu/ac, barley 49 bu/ac, fall rye 37 bu/ac, triticale 25 bu/ac, flax 20 bu/ac, canola 23 bu/ac, mustard 800 lb./ac, lentils 1,100 lb./ac, peas 28 bu/ac, canaryseed 900 lb./ac and chickpeas 1,000 lb./ac.

The rain is causing lodging, sprouting, bleaching and staining. Strong winds in some areas have caused crops to lodge. Crop disease is causing damage. The number of flooded acres continues to increase as the rain continues. Temperatures dipped to just below zero for a night in the Stockholm, Langenburg, Foam Lake, Rama, Wynyard, Earl Grey, Jansen and Leroy areas.

Farmers are busy trying to get the crop into the bin. There are reports of combines, swathers and grain carts getting stuck in fields. Most of the late-seeded crops are starting to mature. Crops that have been desiccated or received pre-harvest applications are taking a long time to dry down. Dual tires are being put on combines in some cases to help with the muddy field conditions. Foot rot in cattle is an issue. The last two weeks of rain has many producers wondering if they will be able to access fields at all this fall.

Sunny and dry weather is needed.

West-Central Saskatchewan (Crop Districts 6B and 7)

Most farmers, if the weather allowed them into their fields, were swathing canola. Harvest progress remains unchanged from last week. Seven% of the crop is combined, and an additional 31% is swathed or ready to straight-cut. Last year at this time, 25% of the crop had been combined. Crop District 6B has just over 8% combined and CDs 7A and 7B have just over 5% combined.

All areas received between 5 mm and 61 mm of rain for the week, with most areas receiving more than 10 mm. The Sonningdale area received 28 mm, the Langham area 61 mm, the Outlook area 57 mm, the Smiley and Luseland areas 6 mm, the Kindersley area 16 mm, the Harris area 25 mm, the Biggar area 17 mm and the Landis area 10 mm.

Due to rain, crop disease and the small amount of crop that has been combined, crop reporters are having difficulty predicting yields. Yields are very variable, depending on where and when the heavy rains fell. Crop reporters are indicating the following average yields at this time: winter wheat 42 bu/ac, spring wheat 36 bu/ac, durum 41 bu/ac, oats 72 bu/ac, barley 56 bu/ac, fall rye 40 bu/ac, triticale 42 bu/ac, flax 26 bu/ac, canola 30 bu/ac, mustard 1,100 lb./ac, lentils 1,100 lb./ac, peas 35 bu/ac and canaryseed 1,200 lb./ac.

With all the rain, farmers are concerned about crop quality.

The majority of crop damage is due to rain which is causing disease, flooding and lodging. Wind is also causing lodging. The moisture received in the past few weeks has reduced crop quality. Pulses, particularly lentils, are showing high disease pressures.

Temperatures dipped to just below zero for a night in the Luseland area.

Farmers are busy trying to harvest and haul bales. There were reports of some winter wheat being seeded. The heavy rain flooded some roads. Fields are quite soft and water in the fields is causing harvest problems. The frost predicted for the end of the week is worrying farmers, as some crops are still quite green. There were reports of farmers swathing green cereal crops and canola to reduce the risk of frost damage. Geese and cranes are starting to visit crops. Many farmers are indicating that their crops are ready to be harvested, but that the rain has put a halt to harvest activity.

Northeastern Saskatchewan (Crop Districts 8 and 9AE)

Some farmers managed to get in a single day of combining. Farmers in the region have 8% of the 2010 crop combined. Some progress was made with swathing.

Forty-7% of the crop is swathed or ready to straight-combine. Last year at this time, 14% of the crop had been combined. Crop District 8A has 11% combined, and CDs 8B and 9AE have 7% combined.

It was another very wet week in the region. Between 42 mm and 75 mm of rain fell. The Star City area reported 49 mm, the Porcupine Plain area 70 mm, the Nipawin area 75 mm, the Humboldt area 55 mm, the Melfort area 57 mm, the Prince Albert area 56 mm and the Garrick area 42 mm. Most areas reported receiving more than 40 mm.

Due to rain, crop disease and the small amount of crop that has been combined, crop reporters are having a difficult time predicting yields. Yields are very variable depending on where and when the heavy rains fell. Crop reporters are indicating the following average crop yields at this time: winter wheat 40 bu/ac, spring wheat 31 bu/ac, durum 27 bu/ac, oats 74 bu/ac, barley 37 bu/ac, flax 17 bu/ac, canola 21 bu/ac, peas 22 bu/ac and canaryseed 850 lb./ac. Concerns about crop quality are growing as the rain continues.

Crop damage is due to rain, which caused flooding, disease and lodging. Wind is also causing lodging. Temperatures dipped below zero for a night in the Garrick area.

Farmers are busy swathing while waiting to get back to combining. Bales are being hauled very carefully over wet and soggy fields. Some of the crops have been combined tough, so aeration fans and grain dryers have started up. Fields are very wet in areas and equipment is getting stuck. The recent heavy rains have flooded more acres and some swaths are lying in water. The fall rye and winter wheat sown at the beginning of September is emerging. Some producers are able to get onto fields to do fall weed control.

Northwestern Saskatchewan (Crop Districts 9AW and 9B)

Some swathing occurred last week, but harvest progress remains unchanged from last week. Six% of the crop is combined and an additional 46% is swathed or ready to straight-cut. Last year at this time, 17% of the crop was off the field. Crop District 9AW has just over 8% of the crop combined and CD 9B has 5% of the crop combined.

All areas received between 5 mm and 58 mm of rain for the week. Most areas received more than 20 mm. The Speers area received 24 mm, the Debden area 58 mm, the Neilburg area 5 mm, the Barthel area 28 mm, the Meadow Lake area 47 mm and the Glaslyn area 13 mm.

Due to rain, crop disease and the small amount of crop that has been combined, crop reporters are having a difficult time predicting yields. Yields are very variable, depending on where and when the heavy rains fell. Crop reporters are indicating the following average crop yields at this time: spring wheat 38 bu/ac, oats 75 bu/ac, barley 61 bu/ac, fall rye 32 bu/ac, triticale 25 bu/ac, flax 23 bu/ac, canola 32 bu/ac, mustard 1,000 lb./ac and peas 38 bu/ac. Concerns about crop quality are growing as the rain continues.

Rain is causing the majority of crop damage through flooding and disease. Wind is causing lodging. Temperatures dipped below zero for one night in the St. Walburg, Turtleford, Rapid View and Meadow Lake areas.

Warm and sunny weather is needed. Farmers are busy getting ready for harvest, combining and swathing between rain showers, and hauling bales. Crops are being cut for greenfeed and swath-grazing. Farmers are swathing some crops green to try to reduce damage from the predicted frost at the end of the week. Ergot in wheat is a problem in the North Battleford area.

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