Crops are reported to be in overall good condition in Saskatchewan, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Agriculture.
It was generally drier over the past week compared to previous weeks, despite the excess moisture causing crop yellowing in low-lying areas in some regions of the province and lack of moisture contributing to drier areas.
Moisture and warmer temperatures have sped up crop development, however canola and spring cereals are still the furthest behind the normal stages of development for this time of year.
Saskatchewan is in a heatwave, and while some farmers welcome the hot weather, others are concerned. Disease development has been spotted in various crops including pulses and cereals.
Todd Lewis farms near Gray, south of Regina. He finished spraying fungicide on his lentils, canary seed and durum wheat. He said his crops are coming along nicely.
“By the end of the week all our fields will be in the flowering stage. The crops are a little bit behind compared to other years, but at the same time there’s a heck of a growth there and this heat over the next seven to 10 days should really catch them up,” Lewis said.
Slightly drier conditions have helped haying operations, but a few areas are still delayed due to isolated rainfall events.
Nokomis area farmer Brett Halstead has been cutting hay. He said conditions are encouraging.
“Most of the grass is pretty good. We had some spring rains which is critical for grass production, so it’s probably as good a hay cut we’ve had in several years so we’re pretty happy with it,” he said. “Dry down is a little slow because of the humidity though.”
Kevin Hursh farms in the Cabri area in the southwest region and like Lewis and Halstead, his crops are doing fine but he is concerned about the heat.
“We don’t have a lot of reserves when other areas were getting an inch or two or three, we were getting three or four or five tenths, maybe an inch in some isolated areas,” Hursh said. “I do worry about an extended hot, dry period and what that might do to crops.”
Hursh said temperatures in the mid to high 20s and even 30 degrees is okay, but anything above 30 hurts the crops.
In areas that have received less moisture, crop stress is starting to occur. There was minor to moderate damage reported from isolated hail events over the past week.
Gophers and grasshoppers continue to cause damage with some areas reporting emerging grasshoppers that didn’t previously have pressure. Producers also note aphids and cabbage seedpod weevils are beginning to appear in some regions of the province.
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