Crop Report June 23, 2008

Please note the Ministry will not publish a crop report next week.

In general, crops are at least 50 per cent in good to excellent condition, acco

rding to Saskatchewan Agriculture's weekly crop report.

Provincially, fall cereal crops are reported to be 55 to 70 per cent in good to excellent condition, with 49 per cent of the crops at, or ahead of normal development.  Spring cereal crops are 65 to 80 per cent in good to excellent condition, with 37 per cent of the crops at normal development.  Flax and canola crops are reported to be 63 and 53 per cent in good to excellent condition respectively, and 31 per cent at normal development.  Pulse crops are 65 to 75 per cent in good to excellent condition, with 43 per cent reported to be at, or ahead of normal development for this time of year.

According to crop reporters, 72 per cent of crop land has adequate topsoil moisture, while 27 per cent of the land has short or very short moisture.  Sixty-two per cent of hay and pasture land is rated as having adequate topsoil moisture conditions, with the rest rated as short or very short.  The top portion of the west central, as well as the northwest regions are currently reported to be the driest areas in the province.

Haying operations on the 2008 crop are just getting underway, with one per cent cut or baled.  Hay crops are expected to have below average yields in most areas of the province.  In dry areas, producers are not sure if there will even be enough crop to cut.

Crop damage came from a number of sources, but was relatively minimal across the province with the exception of gopher damage and a heavy hail storm in the northeast. 

Farmers were kept busy applying herbicide during the past week. 

South eastern Saskatchewan
(Crop Districts 1, 2, & 3ase)

The south eastern region was warm to hot this past week, with some light showers.  An average of 3 mm of precipitation was reported, ranging from an average low of trace amounts reported in Crop District (CD) 2a, to an average high of 6 mm reported in CD 1b.  There continues to be flooding damage in the Moosomin area from the previous week's rains.  Hail damage was reported in the Moosomin, Rocanville and Oxbow areas with minimal damage expected.  The Qu'Appelle area had some drought damage.  

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland deteriorated from last week.  Reporters rate 78% of the crop land as having adequate topsoil moisture conditions, compared with 88% last week.  Conditions also deteriorated on hay and pasture land, with 76% of the land rated as having adequate topsoil moisture compared to 93% last week.  Many areas are looking for more rain.

Canola crops in the Broadview area are showing several different stages within the same field.  In the Weyburn area, some oilseeds are showing bolting and emerging in the same field.  Around Pangman and Radville, canola and mustard crops are patchy.  Crops are still patchy and uneven in the Montmartre area.  In the Odessa area, it appears flax crops have more frost damage than first thought.  Around Briercrest, many canola crops are a mix of rosette to flowering stages.        

Gophers continued to cause crop damage in the Moosomin, Broadview, Weyburn, and Minton areas.  Flea beetles caused crop damage in CDs 1 and 2b, with the heaviest damage being done in CD 1b.  Insecticides for flea beetles were in short supply in the Montmartre area.  Grasshoppers caused damage to canola crops in the Briercrest area.  Leaf disease was present in the Moosomin area and tanspot reported in the Ceylon area.  Winter wheat crops were being sprayed with fungicide in the Briercrest area.     

First-cut haying is just getting underway with less than 1% of the crop cut.  Most farmers expect low-yielding hay crops, even with the previous week's rain.  Pastures have improved, but are still short. 

Many farmers spent last week on their sprayers tackling the weed populations.  

South western Saskatchewan
(CDs 3asw, 3an, 3b, & 4)

The southwest saw warm days with some showers.  An average of 3 mm of precipitation was reported, ranging from an average low of 1 mm reported in CD 3asw, to an average high of 5 mm reported in CDs 3bs and 4b.  There was some flooding damage in the Cadillac area when a Monday night thunderstorm dumped up to 75 mm in a narrow half mile swath.    

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland improved somewhat from last week.  Reporters rated 92% of crop land as having adequate topsoil moisture, compared to 88% last week.  Conditions deteriorated slightly on hay and pasture land with 87% of the land rated as having adequate topsoil moisture, compared with 93% last week.

In the Hazenmore area, some fields of mustard were re-seeded because of spotty germination.  Some crops that were seeded in April are finally starting to germinate in the Stewart Valley area.            

Gophers damaged crops across the southwest during the past week.  Gophers are moving back and re-infesting land where control measures had been taken.  Some fields in the Rush Lake area have been treated up to four times.  Cutworm damage was reported in several areas.  Flea beetles damaged crops in the Limerick area.  Farmers were spraying for ascochyta blight in the Glenbain area.  Farmers were spraying grasshoppers in the Bengough area.  Spraying has started for ascochyta blight in the Glenbain area.         

Haying operations are just getting underway with less than 1% of the hay cut.  Hay crops are very short.      

Last week was busy with spraying for farmers as weeds also took advantage of the recent rain and warmer weather.  Other jobs included hauling grain and rolling crops.   

East central Saskatchewan
(Crop Districts 5 & 6a)

Warm weather helped to improve growing conditions in the east central region during the past week.  An average of 3 mm of precipitation was reported, ranging from an average low of 1 mm reported in CD 6a, to an average high of 7 mm reported in CD 5b.  Water in low spots in the Goodeve area caused crop damage.  Hail damage was reported in the Jedburgh area.  Hail also came down in the Stenen area, but damage is unknown.      

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland were similar to last week, with 89% of the crop land reported as having adequate topsoil moisture, compared with 91% last week.  Conditions deteriorated on hay and pasture land, with 83% of the land reported as having adequate topsoil moisture, compared to 92% last week.

Canola crops showed poor germination in the Neudorf area.  Canola crops are also lagging well behind normal in the Holdfast area and patchy in the Craik, Semans, Nokomis, Young, and Humboldt areas.         

Flea beetles damaged crops in the Neudorf area.  Tanspot damaged crops in the Lumsden area.  Leaf disease also was present in the Kamsack area.  Gophers were damaging in the Lumsden and Earl Grey areas.  Winter wheat crops in the Stockholm area were sprayed for leaf disease.      

Some harvesting of the 2008 hay crop has begun, with about 3% of the hay cut.  Most reporters expect that the hay crops will be below average yield.  Some hay land will not be able to recover enough for a crop to be harvested.    

Spraying is in high gear as weed pressure is heavy.  Pastures have shown some improvement.    

West central Saskatchewan
(Crop Districts 6b & 7) 

The west central region saw warm temperatures much of the past week.  An average of 8 mm of precipitation was reported, ranging from an average low of 2 mm reported in CD 6b, to an average high of 13 mm reported in CD 7b.  Drought damage was reported in several areas throughout the region.  Slight hail damage was reported in the Herschel, Major, and Denzil areas.  Flooding was also reported in the Denzil area.   

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland are drier than last week.  Reporters rated 51% of crop land as having adequate topsoil moisture, compared to 65% last week.  Conditions also deteriorated on hay and pasture land with 29% of the land rated as having adequate topsoil moisture compared to 52% last week.

Later-seeded canola crops are very patchy in the Arelee area.  Crops are suffering from lack of moisture in the Harris area - there are many different stages within the same field, and leaves are burning off.  Oilseed crops in the Biggar area have poor emergence.  Some canola was re-seeded in the Denzil area.  In the Battleford area, less than half the seeds have germinated in some canola fields.           

Flea beetles damaged crops in the Denzil area. 

Three per cent of the 2008 hay crop has been cut or baled.  Yields are expected to be well below normal.   

Farmers were busy spraying for weeds and doing chemfallow.  Windy weather delayed spraying in several areas across the region.  Some were seeding for greenfeed or swath grazing.     

North eastern Saskatchewan
(Crop Districts 8 & 9ae)

The north eastern region had warm weather this past week.  An average of 4 mm of precipitation was reported, ranging from an average low of 4 mm reported in CD 8, to an average high of 8 mm reported in CD 9ae.  There was some hail damage in the Porcupine Plain and Lake Lenore areas.  Up to 80% of some crops are damaged in the Porcupine Plain area.  Drought and heat also caused some crop damage.

Topsoil moisture conditions are drier this past week, with 60% of the crop land rated as having adequate topsoil moisture, compared with 70% last week.  Conditions are also drier on hay and pasture land with 41% of the land reported as having adequate topsoil moisture compared to 66% last week.  Significant rain is needed soon for some crops.  

Some canola crops are patchy in the Tisdale area, while some crops are starting to burn and turn yellow.  In the Hoey area, crops on tilled land look better and are more advanced than those seeded on standing stubble.    

Some farmers have begun cutting the 2008 hay crop in CD 8b.  Hay crops are expected to yield below average.   

Farmers were busy spraying herbicides.  Wind hampered spraying in some areas. 

North western Saskatchewan
(Crop Districts 9aw & 9b)

The north western region was warmer during the past week.  An average of 8 mm of precipitation was reported across the region.  Some hail was reported in the North Battleford area.  The hot, dry weather caused the majority of the crop damage.  There was some wind damage to crops in the Pierceland area.     

Topsoil moisture conditions on cropland continued to deteriorate during the past week.  Eighteen per cent of the crop land is rated in an adequate topsoil moisture situation, compared with 26% last week.  Conditions were also drier on hay and pasture land with 13% of the land rated as having adequate topsoil moisture compared to 17% last week.

Crops and pastures are burning in the Speers area.  Germination was very patchy in the Mayfair area.  In the Big River area, germination on later-seeded crops is poor with the hills bare.  Some crops are starting to decline with little or no growth in the Meadow Lake area.           

Haying operations have not yet started in the northwest, but hay crops are poor and expected to yield well below average.  Pastures are also very poor and cattle are quickly going through what grass there is.

Flea beetles and grasshoppers caused crop damage in the Duck Lake area.  Gophers caused crop damage in the North Battleford and Medstead areas. 

Farmers were spraying for weeds.  Some greenfeed was still being planted.

* missing one to seven days of data.

A degree day is defined as a measure of the departure of temperature for a day from some reference temperature.  They are expressed in degrees of temperature.

For plant growth, a base of 5ºC is generally used, although the base varies for each plant species and, in fact, varies throughout the life of the plant from germination to maturity.  By accumulating degree days throughout the growing season, it is possible to forecast harvesting dates.