Sask. harvest still behind average despite progress

A stretch of warm and dry weather allowed most producers to return to the field last week, but harvesting continues at a slow pace.

According to the weekly crop report from the province, 39 per cent of the crop is now in the bin, up from 23 per cent last week. Normally 62 per cent has been harvested for this time of year.

The Ministry of Agriculture said crops have been slow to mature and dry due to frequent showers. Rainfall was minimal across the province except for the Lipton and Ituna areas, which both received 94 millimetres.

The moist conditions have meant having to dry grain after it comes off the field.

Ian Boxall said drying grain is nothing new for his operation near Tisdale.

“We dry lots of grain every year, hundreds of thousands of bushels,” Boxall said. “We have the same grain dryer my dad and uncle bought in 1974.”

Still, Boxall said he would like to see a return to warm and dry conditions.

Harvest is most advanced in the southwest region at 58 per cent. The west-central and southeast regions are at 46 and 40 per cent, respectively, while 31 per cent has been combined in the northeast. The northwest and east-central regions lag behind at just over 20 per cent.

The ministry said the majority of crop damage was due to hail, strong winds and lodging. There continue to be many reports of crops sprouting, bleaching and staining, and downgrading is expected at the elevator.