Harvest operations in the southeast region has continued in the past week with hot, dry weather helping to enable producers to be in the fields, and to ripen crops for harvesting.
With less rain than in the rest of Saskatchewan, harvest is most advanced in the southeast with eight per cent of the overall harvest done, compared to three per cent for the province as a whole.
A year ago nine per cent of the crop provincially was combined, and 10 per cent was swathed of ready to be straight cut.
Broken down by crops, about 79 per cent of the winter wheat, 84 per cent of fall rye, 47 per cent of the peas, 14 per cent of lentils and four per cent of the spring wheat has been combined, along with 28 per cent of the canola crops swathed.
The crop yields being reported so far are as follows in the southeast area.
Winter wheat has seen yields of 64 bushels to the acre, compared to 58 bu/ac for the province; fall rye has 56 bu/ac compared to 55 for the province; hard red spring wheat, as well as other wheat classes are all reporting 47 bu/ac, compared to 43 and 49 respectively for the province.
Durum wheat is getting 51 bu/ac, compared to 45 provincially; oats are 76 bu/ac, down from the provincial average of 85 bu/ac, and barley is 71 bu/ac compared to 66 provincially.
Canaryseed is seeing yields of 1,400 pounds per acre, compared to 1,200 provincially; mustard is 1,200 lbs/ac, lentils are 1,300 lbs/ac and chickpeas are 1,500 lbs/ac.
Flax yields are 27 bu/ac, canola is 39 bu/ac, soybeans are 28 bu/ac and peas are 41 bu/ac.
These are regional averages, and actual yields can vary greatly across the area.
Rainfall in the southeast ranged from 33 mm in the Ceylon area to 17 mm in the Weyburn area, 5 mm in the RM of Brokenshell, 10 mm in the Radville area and in the Francis area, where there are two crop reporters, one noted 5 mm and the other had 32 mm of rainfall.
Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 17 per cent surplus, 78 per cent adequate and five per cent short. Moisture levels on hay land and pastures is rated as 11 per cent surplus, 69 per cent adequate and 20 per cent short.
