HUMBOLDT - Producers have noted that their crops look very good across the region but they could use a little more rain to help the crops fill with seed before they begin to ripen and dry down in time for harvest. Pulses and cereal crops appear to be the most mature with oilseeds being the most behind. With a few weeks of hot sunny weather crops in the region will begin to ripen quickly. Producers are likely 10 days or more from starting their harvest operations.
There were spotty rainstorms in the region this past week, the Prince Albert area received 29 mm, the Lake Lenore area 24 mm and the Melfort and Kinistino areas eight mm. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 80 per cent adequate, 19 per cent short and one per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as one per cent surplus, 77 per cent adequate and 22 per cent short.
Pastures in the region are doing much better than they were a year ago, with ample rainfall this growing season they have been able to recover from the drought stress of 2021. Pasture conditions are rated as twelve per cent excellent, 72 per cent good, 14 per cent fair and two per cent poor.
The majority of crop damage this week was due to strong winds that resulted in lodged crops, cereals crops such as barley, oats and wheat were mainly affected. There was a hailstorm in the northern half of the region that resulted in crop damage but the severity is not currently known.
