Forty-one per cent of the crop is now harvested while 32 per cent is swathed or ready to straight-cut. The five-year (2009-2013) average for this time of year is 64 per cent combined. Harvest progress ranges from 61 per cent combined in the Weyburn area to 24 per cent in the Stoughton area. Heavy morning and evening dews have delayed producers in some areas.
Crop yields vary across the region but overall are reported to be about average. Excess moisture and disease have damaged many crops and quality remains a concern. High fusarium levels are common in cereal crops, as are sprouting and bleaching in cereals and pulses. There are many reports that frost damage is now evident in some late-seeded crops such as canola. Strong winds blew swaths around and have shelled out some standing crops. There are also reports of waterfowl such as geese and cranes damaging crops.
Last week's warm weather aided Stoughton area producer Ed Roelfsema's harvest operations, which was a welcome change after the rains that plagued the earlier portion of the harvest season. However, recent wet weather is again delaying his plans and having an adverse effect on crop quality throughout the Stoughton area.
"Like a lot of guys around this area I still have a lot acres to come off yet. The warm weather helped but we need some consistent warm weather out here to get the rest of the crop off. As far as quality goes, the moisture has caused grade loss; a lot of the grain is going to have to be sold as feed," said Roelfsema.
In addition, Roelfsema, like many producers, has concerns about the poor market prices for many crops.
"A lot of people have high yields this year, but unfortunately a lot of poor quality stuff won't sell for much. On the plus side though, organic feed is still decently priced," said Roelfsema.
Weyburn area producer, Mark Bratrud, is another farmer who is vocal about market concerns.
"It might be an interesting year for a lot of guys out there. Aside from the bad weather conditions and crop quality, we're going to have to contend with the less than ideal grain prices. If you look across the border, the high yields that they are going to have down there are going to have an effect on us. It's probably going to result in a situation where everyone is going to have a lot of stuff that needs to be moved but it can't go anywhere because no one is buying. This year we were fortunate enough to move a lot of our backlogged stuff from last year into the market, so only time will tell how things go," said Bratrud.
Pasture conditions are rated as 35 per cent excellent, 57 per cent good, seven per cent fair and one per cent poor. One hundred per cent of livestock producers have indicated that they have adequate supplies of water for their livestock.
