Progress on harvest completion is significantly below both the five- and ten-year averages, of ten and 12 per cent , respectively, arriving at only 4 per cent complete as of Monday.  

Scattered Precipitation throughout the week was welcome for those with crops still developing, but early-morning dew prevented farmers from getting out in the combine and also created poor desiccation conditions. The Sask Agriculture Weekly Crop Report says farmers are now looking for some warmer temperatures to help advance crop maturity. 

When it comes to rainfall, it was variable across the province last week. The highest rainfall was reported in the Browning area, with 115 millimetres of rain. The Reciprocity and Meadow Lake areas reported 73 mm, however some areas reported not receiving a single drop. 

Cropland topsoil moisture is currently 2 per cent surplus, 54 per cent adequate, 37 per cent short; and 7 per cent very short. Very similar numbers exist in the hayland and pastureland topsoil moisture categories.  

Although harvest is behind schedule this year, we are still ahead of last year, when only 3 er cent of the provincial crop was in the bin at this time. Currently, the southwest leads in harvest progress at nine per cent complete, followed by the southeast at four per cent, west-central at two per cent, and east-central at one per cent. Crops ready to be taken off mainly include winter wheat, fall rye, and triticale. 

Looking at what was causing crop damage over the past week, the report says it was mainly attributed to dry conditions, disease pressure and insect pest activity in parts of the central and northern regions. Alongside minor crop lodging and damage from heat and wind, gopher activity continued to cause localized field damage in some areas. 

And if you’re a rancher, provincially, 81 per cent of reporters indicated no water shortages are occurring or are anticipated for livestock producers, however moderate shortages were reported by nine per cent of respondents, while nine per cent indicated shortages are expected within the next one to two months, and one per cent reported severe shortages. Most livestock producers are not currently concerned about water quality.