(submitted photo/Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture)

By Alice McFarlane

2023 Saskatchewan Crop Report

Mixed bag of weather impacts Saskatchewan crops

Jun 29, 2023 | 1:00 PM

While parts of Saskatchewan are dry, others received heavy localized rain, according to this week’s Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture crop report.

Producers noted a wide range of precipitation across their rural municipalities ranging from three millimetres in the Netherhill area to 50 millimetres in the Bienfait and Wadena areas.

Crop Development Specialist Matthew Struthers called it another topsy-turvy week for producers.

“Some got slammed with rain and hail and others are begging the skies to open up and just give them at least a little drop,” Struthers said.

Very dry conditions continue to hurt crop development in areas around Maple Creek and Swift Current area and then up towards Kindersley, Outlook, and Elbow. The Northwest has also been experiencing hot and dry conditions.

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Struthers said it’s been a mixed bag of weather. What’s needed is a slow soaking rain.

“We’re talking about rain every week, but it’s just so localized,” he said. “It’s happening in really small spots and in really large volumes and not the wide area. That’s causing variable crop development.”

The hot dry conditions have caused crop conditions to speed up. Provincially, 30 per cent of the fall cereals, 22 per cent of the spring cereals, 22 per cent of the oilseed crops and 19 per cent of the pulse crops are ahead of normal development for this time of year.

Haying operations are well underway in the province. Livestock producers who haven’t had adequate rainfall are reporting their hay crop is less than average for yield, but the quality is rated good to excellent.

Pastures also needed rain after a couple of weeks of high daytime temperatures and very little precipitation. Producers are watching their pasture grass and water situation very closely. The rain and humidity caused a slight delay to the haying season for some, but initial reports indicate hay quality to be in the good to excellent range.

The majority of crop damage this past week was from the heat, dry winds, drought, grasshoppers, flooding, and hail while gophers have become a serious problem.

In many municipalities, producers have stated they have lost large portions of their fields to rodents.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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