By Angie Rolheiser

Harvest ahead of five-year average due to dry conditions

Aug 5, 2021 | 1:06 PM

MELFORT, Sask. – Crops around the province continue to take a hit due to hot, dry conditions.

This week’s Saskatchewan Agriculture crop report shows three per cent of the crop has been combined and about three per cent is ready to straight combine.

Harvest progress is well ahead of the five-year average of less than one per cent for this time of year. There are a couple of reasons for advancement, according to Matt Struthers with Saskatchewan Agriculture (Sask. Ag).

“The drought has really quickened things up and farmers just can’t wait any longer, their crops are just drying down that quicky,” Struthers said.

The area with the most rainfall this week was Macklin with 18 mm.

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At this point, any rainfall isn’t going to be of benefit for this year’s crops, Struthers said.

“The rain we do get now and going into the fall will help the ground recover and recharge for next year,” Struthers said.

Sask. Ag is warning the dry conditions mean farmers need to stay vigilant for any signs of combine fires or field fires that could happen during harvest.

On top of the extreme heat, grasshoppers aren’t giving farmers a break either.

“They like that hot, dry heat, they want a little bit of moisture in the spring to start their life-cycle and then when it gets hot and dry, they just take off,” Struthers said. “Just about everyone in the province has had some sort of issue with them.”

According to Struthers, a lot of people who have never actually sprayed for grasshoppers before had to do so this year.

Producers are also busy wrapping up their haying operations, hauling water to cattle on pasture and getting ready for harvest.

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On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW