SOUTHWESTERN SASKATCHEWAN CROP REGION — The producers in the Â鶹´«Ã½AVwestern Saskatchewan Crop Region are nearly done their seeding operations and those who have completed seeding their fields are anxiously waiting for rain to improve soil moisture conditions. Ninety-seven per cent of the crop has been seeded, up from 76 per cent last week and is ahead of the five-year average (2017-2021) of 91 per cent for this time of year.
Ninety-nine per cent of the lentil acres, 98 per cent of the canola and field peas, 97 per cent of the durum, 95 per cent of the spring wheat, 93 per cent of the barley, 92 per cent of the oats and 90 per cent of the flax has been seeded to date.
Rain in the region ranged from nothing to 12 mm in some areas of the region. The Shaunavon area reported the most with 12 mm, the Admiral and Gouldtown areas received 5 mm while the Gull Lake and Leader areas received four mm.
Significant rain showers are needed throughout the region to improve and sustain crop and pasture growth as the days become warmer. The warm temperatures and wind have continued to dry the soil. Winds have also continued to prevent spraying and weeds have become an issue in many fields.
Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 58 per cent adequate, 26 per cent short and 16 per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as 45 per cent adequate, 28 per cent short and 27 per cent very short. Pastures in the region are reported as showing signs of deterioration due to the lack of moisture and windy conditions.
Most crops in the region are rated to be in good to fair condition, many fields in the region are too dry and crops have been very slow to emerge. Most of the damage this past week has been caused by wind, dry soil conditions and flea beetles. Producers are busy in-crop spraying for weeds and will be starting to spray for flea beetles in fields where infestations are high if the weather permits.
Provincial Overview
Producers in the west are nearly wrapped up with seeding while many in the east are still behind due to rain delays and extremely wet fields.
Currently, 76 per cent of the crop acres in the province have been seeded, up from 52 per cent last week but still well behind the five-year average (2017-2021) of 93 per cent. Producers in the southeast and east central regions have reported that many low laying areas will go unseeded this year due to standing water.
Ninety-seven per cent of the crop is seeded in the southwest, 95 per cent in the west-central, 93 per cent in the northwest, 64 per cent per cent in the southeast, 60 per cent in the northeast and 50 per cent in the east-central region.
Provincially, 96 per cent of lentils and chickpeas, 93 per cent of field peas, 91 per cent of durum, 79 per cent of canary seed, 75 per cent of spring wheat, 69 per cent of barley, 66 per cent of canola, 65 per cent of flax and 51 per cent of oats have been seeded to date.
A large weather system covered much of the eastern part of the province this past week, resulting in significant amounts of rain for those regions. The Moosomin area received 92 mm, the Stoughton area 89 mm, the Bienfait area 65 mm and the Esterhazy area 42 mm. The west received some rain over the past week, but amounts were small, ranging from three mm to 12 mm.
Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 16 per cent surplus, 56 per cent adequate, 19 per cent short and nine per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as seven per cent surplus, 60 per cent adequate, 19 per cent short and 14 per cent very short. Western regions are least favourable for moisture while more favourable conditions are reported in the east.
Crop conditions this week range from good to fair across the province. Emergence has been reported to be slow in areas of the southwest and west-central where moisture is lacking. In the southeast and east-central, however, emergence has been slow due to cool weather and an overabundance of moisture. Most crop damage this week was from flooding, drought, flea beetles and gophers.
Now that seeding has wrapped up for many producers, they are busying spraying in-crop herbicides, assessing germination and emergence, scouting for early season pests and moving cattle to pasture.
