(file photo/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Alice McFarlane

Saskatchewan Crop Report 2021

Crop yields below normal across Saskatchewan

Sep 9, 2021 | 3:50 PM

MELFORT, Sask. – While farmers continue to make excellent progress getting the crop in the bin, the first yield statistics paint a bleak picture.

Ministry of Agriculture crops extension specialist Matt Struthers said it’s not a surprise yields are below average.

“We’re sitting at 27 bushels per acre for hard red spring wheat, 19 bushels per acre for durum, 38 bushels for barley, 20 bushels for canola, 21 bushels per acre for field peas and 817 pounds per acre for lentils,” Struthers said. “Those are far lower than they normally are.”

Saskatchewan farmers have 56 per cent of the crop combined with another 24 per cent of the crop is swathed or ready to straight-cut which is well ahead of the five-year average.

Rob Stone farms in the Davidson, Sask. area about halfway between Saskatoon and Regina. He sees three different types of harvest going on this year.

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“There is the combine in the shed category, it’s not very great but we’re going to harvest something and there are some pretty nice crops sprinkled here and there,” Stone said. “It’s kind of all over the map.”

Stone said combining canola should have been an easy process this year but there is a lot of regrowth.

“A lot of it was left standing to make sure the swaths don’t blow away. But after these rains the crops are really greening up again,” he said. “The regrowth is presenting some harvest challenges with dead ripe tops and grass green bottoms.”

The green material could lead to storage issues. Stone said farmers need to keep a careful eye on their bins.

“There’s going to be moisture along bin sidewalls and you’ll get some heating and caking. I would suggest turning it often and run it through a dryer,” Stone added.

The majority of crop damage this past week was due to strong winds, and hail.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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