Saskatchewan farmers will need more rain soon to avoid deteriorating crops: report

(Courtesy: Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture)

Saskatchewan farmers are moving into the next phase of crop production after finishing getting their seeds in the ground last week.

Now, according to the Ministry of Agriculture’s latest crop report Thursday, producers across the province begin spraying their fields to keep the pests at bay and hauling grain to free up storage space for harvest.

So far so good, but whether those seedlings thrive or begin to deteriorate in condition all depends on one key factor — rain.

“There were some isolated showers over the past week, with some areas seeing heavy rain and hail,” the ministry said in a news release.

“While the moisture was welcome, the intensity of these storms left some crops damaged.”

The ministry says the Meadow Lake area had the heaviest reported rainfall over the week, at 64 millimetres. The Coleville, Bruno and Prince Albert areas also reported substantial rainfall.

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Much of the province received small, spotty rains, the ministry says, contributing to a province-wide decline in topsoil moisture conditions.

Forty-five per cent of Saskatchewan’s cropland has topsoil rated as short of moisture, and 14 per cent is rated very short. Just one per cent of cropland has a surplus of moisture, the province says, and 40 per cent is rated adequate.

In the hay lands, 34 per cent of top soil moisture is rated adequate, 41 per cent short, and 25 per cent very short.

Just 27 per cent of pasture lands are rated at adequate moisture levels, with 42 per cent short and 31 per cent very short.

Most crops appear to be normal in their development for this time of year, the ministry says.

“However, many producers are reporting that without rain soon crop development will be delayed on later seeded crops and hastened for the more advanced crops as they respond to the drier conditions.”

Mainly, the ministry says crop conditions across the province are rated as fair to good, but that could change if more rain doesn’t come soon.

“Dry conditions coupled with windy days continues to be the largest source of crop damage and severity ranges from minor to moderate depending on the region.”

Scattered hail events this week contributed to some crop damage, also varying widely in severity.

The ministry says fall seeded crops in later development stages sustained the most damage and are unlikely to recover, “but less advanced crops should be able to bounce back.”

The ministry says producers are reporting issues with grasshoppers and flea beetles, but those concerns range from minor to moderate and are being dealt with.

Read the full report online here.