By Nigel Maxwell

Hay shortage very possible this year

Jul 26, 2018 | 2:00 PM

Hay yields are significantly lower than normal for many producers, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report.

As a result, hay could be in short supply this year in some areas. Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Shannon Friesen said yields have been lower the past year or two.

“This year of course we were optimistic that we would have received some moisture, of course in many areas we did not receive it in time so at the moment hay yields have been anywhere from maybe a quarter less of normal to even up to 50 per cent less of normal,” she said.

Friesen cautioned it’s still very much a wait-and-see approach in terms of how bad the shortage will be.

The news is not all bad this week. Saskatchewan farmers in the southern and west-central parts of the province have indicated they may be ready to start harvest in the next few weeks. Friesen said this would be considered an early start.

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“Normally we don’t tend to start until early August so we are a little advanced but that’s really no surprise of course seeing as how we’ve had some very high temperatures and a lack of rain in main areas,” she said.

Rainfall in the province this past week ranged from nothing to 71 mm in the Craik area. Many southern and central areas remain very dry and are in need of significant rain to help later-seeded crops fill heads and pods.  

Topsoil moisture conditions remain relatively unchanged from last week.  Provincial topsoil moisture conditions on cropland are rated as two per cent surplus, 51 per cent adequate, 35 per cent short and 12 per cent very short.  Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as one per cent surplus, 44 per cent adequate, 36 per cent short and 19 per cent very short.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell