SASKATCHEWAN CROP REPORT — Over the past week, producers across the Saskatchewan grain belt took advantage of dry weather that allowed for substantial progress with their seeding operations.
Ninety-one per cent of the 2022 crop has been seeded to date across all regions of the province, up from 76 per cent last week and just behind the five-year average (2017-21) of 97 per cent.
While seeding is being reported as 91 per cent complete across the province, it is important to note that there are many acres in east Saskatchewan that may not be seeded this year due to excess moisture and standing water. Some fields in the southwest and west central are being reseeded due to poor emergence and heavy insect damage.
The southwest and west-central are virtually complete with 99 per cent of their crop now seeded, 97 per cent in the northwest, 92 per cent in the northeast, 86 per cent in the southeast and 77 per cent in the east-central.
It was a relatively dry week for most of the province, however the southwest finally received some rain showers that were greatly appreciated and will hopefully improve their crop and pasture conditions. The Consul area received the most rain with 58 mm, the Maple Creek area 20 mm and the Shaunavon and Admiral areas 16 mm. More rain is desperately needed in the west-central and southwest regions. Producers in these regions are becoming anxious about how much longer their crops can survive without moisture. Dry weather allowed for many fields in the east to dry out enough to allow seeding and producers are hopeful that weather will continue to be favourable enough for them to go back out and seed low areas before the seeding window closes.
Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as six per cent surplus, 56 per cent adequate, 24 per cent short and 14 per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as three per cent surplus, 57 per cent adequate, 27 per cent short and 13 per cent very short. Dry conditions in the west are severely deteriorating crops in those regions and moisture is needed soon for both crop and pasture land.
Forty-five per cent of the fall cereal crops are reported as being in the jointing stage and 19 per cent are in the short blade stage, while 49 per cent of the spring cereals are emerging and 20 per cent are tillering. Thirty-eight per cent of the canola is emerging and 15 per cent is in the seedling stage, along with nine per cent of flax being in the seedling stage. Forty-nine per cent of pulse crops are emerging and 29 per cent are in the vegetative stage.
The majority of crop damage this week was due to strong winds, frost, drought, insects (including flea beetles, grasshoppers and cutworms); some farmers are reseeding due to flea beetle and cutworm damage.
Farmers have been busy spraying for weed and insect control, picking rocks, rolling lentil and moving cattle to pasture.
Southeastern Crop Region
A week of warm days and no rain on the forecast has allowed for many fields in the Southeastern Crop Region to dry out and producers were able to make great progress with seeding, 86 per cent of the crop has now been seeded up from 64 per cent last week but still behind the five-year average (2017-2021) of 99 per cent. Many producers hope to seed low laying areas as they dry up before the seeding window closes for the season. It is reported that if the weather remains warm and dry, it will only take another seven to 10 days to complete seeding.
No rain was reported this week for the southeast region, this is highly appreciated by producers who still have many acres left to seed. Previous rainy weeks has left the region in a very good condition for plant growth with most crop, hay and pasture land having adequate moisture levels. Cropland is rated as 12 per cent surplus, 81 per cent adequate, six per cent short and one per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as three per cent surplus, 88 per cent adequate, seven per cent short and one per cent very short. Pastures in the region look very good and producers are expecting minimal issues if precipitation continues into the summer months.
Thirty-six per cent of the fall cereal crops are in the jointing stage and four per cent are in the shotblade stage, while eight per cent of the spring cereals are tillering. Thirty-seven per cent of canola and mustard is emerging and five per cent is in the seedling stage, along with eleven per cent of flax in the seedling stage. Fifty-one per cent of the pulse crops are emerging and 19 per cent is in the vegetative stage.
The majority of crop damage this week was due to strong winds, flea beetles, grasshoppers and frost. Producers are busy with in-crop spraying of pest control products to keep weed and insect pressures low.
Southwestern Crop Region
Seeding is coming to an end in the southwest corner of the Saskatchewan grain belt. Seeding progress is at 99 per cent, up from 97 per cent last week and right on par with the five-year average. There is some reseeding occurring where frost or insect damage warranted it, while other producers are finishing up seeding crops for green feed.
Parts of the Southwestern Crop Region received larger amounts of rain compared to previous weeks. Producers were very happy to see precipitation and hope that it continues in the coming weeks. The Consul area received 58 mm, the Shaunavon area 21, Maple Creek 20 mm and the Rockglen area 13 mm. The rain was highly localized and many parts of the region remain extremely dry.
Moisture conditions have fallen in the region due to lack of widespread rainfall. Crops, hay land and pasture lands are all showing signs of drought stress and producers are worried about how much longer their crops can last without moisture. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 51 per cent adequate, 28 per cent short and 21 per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as 38 per cent adequate, 38 per cent short and 24 per cent very short.
Sixty-nine per cent of the fall cereal crops are in the jointing stage and 31 per cent are heading, while 42 per cent of the spring cereals are tillering. Sixty-five per cent of canola and mustard is emerging and 26 per cent is in the seedling stage, along with 10 per cent of flax in the seedling stage. Thirty-seven per cent of the pulse crops are emerging and 35 per cent is in the vegetative stage.
The majority of crop damage this week was due to winds, drought stress, flea beetles and gophers. Grasshoppers are noted to be hatching so they are expecting to become an issue soon if the dry weather continues. Producers have been busy spraying out weeds and flea beetles and will be planning to spray for grasshoppers in the coming week.
East-Central Crop Region
Dry weather this past week, along with some windy days helped dry up many fields in the region and allowed producers to make great progress with seeding. Seventy-seven per cent of the crop is now in the ground, up from 50 per cent last week. This is still behind the five-year average (2017-2021) of 97 per cent. Although there was good progress with seeding, there may be quite a few areas that go unseeded due to excess moisture and standing water. Emerging crops are growing well and producers are happy with crop conditions so far this season.
The east-central region did not receive any rainfall this past week. Even so, their topsoil moisture conditions are still favourable for crop and pasture growth. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 17 per cent surplus, 61 per cent adequate, 21 per cent short and one per cent very short. Hay and pasture land is rated as nine per cent surplus, 66 per cent adequate, 20 per cent short and five per cent very short.
Twenty-three per cent of the fall cereal crops are in the shotblade stage, while nine per cent of the spring cereals are tillering. Seventeen per cent of canola and mustard is emerging and ten per cent is in the seedling stage, along with two per cent of flax in the seedling stage. Forty-nine per cent of the pulse crops are emerging and 27 per cent are in the vegetative stage.
The majority of crop damage this week was due to frost, strong winds, flea beetles and cutworms. Frost damage is being assessed on canola crops and producers are hoping it will not require reseeding.
West-Central Crop Region
Most seeding operations have wrapped up in the West-Central Crop Region now that 99 per cent of the crop has been seeded, just above the five-year average (2017-2021) of 98 per cent. Producers in the region have been able to make steady progress all spring due to very little precipitation. With no recent moisture, early seeded crops are beginning to show signs of drought stress while later seeded crops have not yet emerged due to inadequate soil moisture.
No precipitation was received this past week and soil moisture conditions continue to deteriorate; producers are nervous about how much longer their crops can hold out. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as zero per cent surplus, 12 per cent adequate, 44 per cent short and 44 per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as twelve per cent adequate, 42 per cent short and 46 per cent very short.
Forty-nine per cent of the fall cereal crops are in the shotblade stage and one per cent are heading, while 26 per cent of the spring cereals are tillering. Fifty-two per cent of canola and mustard is emerging and 27 per cent is in the seedling stage, along with 18 per cent of flax in the seedling stage. Sixty-six per cent of the pulse crops are emerging and 28 per cent is in the vegetative stage.
The majority of crop damage this week was due to strong winds that continue to dry out soils, flea beetles, and frost. Producers have been spraying steadily for flea beetles in their canola and some reseeding will be required where severe damage was done. With pastures being in poor condition, some livestock producers have not been able to move cattle and are running out of feed. There are reports that without rain or additional feed sources, many producers will be forced to cull large portions of their herds.
Northeastern Crop Region
A dry, windy week allowed for tremendous progress to be made throughout the Northeastern Crop Region. Ninety-two per cent of the 2022 crop is now seeded, this is up from 60 per cent last week and slightly behind the five-year average (2017-2021) of 95 per cent for this time of year. There are a few fields that will see their low laying areas go unseeded unless the moisture dries up very quickly.
Very little precipitation was received this past week, the Hudson Bay area received three mm and the Tisdale area 1.8 mm. Soil moisture levels remain good in the region with cropland topsoil moisture being rated as five per cent surplus, 90 per cent adequate and five per cent short. Hay and pasture land is rated as six per cent surplus, 83 per cent adequate and eleven per cent short. Germination and emergence is even in crops throughout the northeast region and crop conditions are good due to adequate moisture conditions and fair weather.
Fifty-five per cent of the spring cereals are emerging and five per cent are tillering. Thirty-seven per cent of canola and mustard is emerging and four per cent is in the seedling stage, 49 per cent of flax is in the seedling stage. Sixty-nine per cent of the pulse crops are emerging and 20 per cent is in the vegetative stage.
The majority of crop damage this week was due to flea beetles, cutworms and strong winds and frost. Most producers were not able to do a pre-seed application of herbicide, so they are now applying in-crop herbicides to get a handle on their weeds, they are also beginning to spray for flea beetles.
Northwestern Crop Region
Seeding is almost wrapped in the Northwestern Crop Region after another week of dry weather. Seeding is now at 97 per cent up from 93 per cent last week and slightly above the five-year average (2017-2021) of 96 per cent. Producers in the region are noting that crop growth seems to be stalled and moisture is desperately needed to rejuvenate crop and pasture growth.
No precipitation was received this past week, producers have reported that some pastures that were once green are now turning brown as they dry down. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 53 per cent adequate, 42 per cent short and five per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as 47 per cent adequate, 40 per cent short and 13 per cent very short.
Fifty-six per cent of the spring cereals are emerging and 27 per cent are tillering. Forty-two per cent of canola and mustard is emerging and 31 per cent is in the seedling stage, fifty-five per cent of flax is in the emerging stage. Fifty-five per cent of the pulse crops are emerging and 36 per cent is in the vegetative stage.
The majority of crop damage this week was caused by drought, wind, frost and flea beetles. Frost damage from previous weeks is now more apparent in some canola fields and some producers are reseeding. Producers are busy spraying for flea beetles and beginning to reseed canola fields that saw severe levels of damage. Livestock producers are moving the last of their cattle to pasture; however, due to poor conditions, the duration that they are on pasture may be shorter than normal.
