A thunderstorm that brought hail and strong wind damaged some crops in the Pangman, Radville, Ceylon and Oungre areas on Sunday night.

Pea-sized to golf ball-sized hail was reported by a number of residents in those areas.

Farmer Darcy Reaney, who lives eight miles south of Pangman, says between 20 to 50 per cent of his crop was damaged during the storm.

"It looked pretty scary there for a while," said Reaney of the hail, wind and pounding rain that hit his farm around supper time.

Reaney says his durum and oats had started to head out and mustard had finished flowering when the storm hit.

"They were looking good, but the wind laid everything over. A lot of it should come back up but some won't. The wind made the mustard really tangled," he said.

Reaney also reported damage to some shingles on his house and a flattened garden.

In the immediate Weyburn area Sunday night one-fifth of an inch of rain fell, giving crops a needed drink.

"The crops were starting to dry out and were needing rain, as were pasture lands and hay fields," said extension agrologist Elaine Moats.

"But it was frustrating for people with hay crops that were still lying in the swath," she added.

A handful of farmers in the southeast are getting ready to start swathing spring seeded crops that were planted early, like mustard, canola and lentils.

"A few people are starting their swathing operations this week. But much of the area got a late start and those crops won't be swathed until mid-September," said Moats.

Throughout the province, especially in the southwest, swathing activity has begun on spring wheat, durum, oats, barley, spring rye, canola, mustard, lentils and field peas, as well as fall rye and winter wheat crops.

Provincial yield estimates vary anywhere from 10 to 40 per cent above average, depending on good growing conditions for the next four to six weeks and minimal damage from insects and disease.

Grasshoppers have been reported in local lentil fields and farmers are beginning to notice diamondback moth larvae. A few fields in the Ogema area have required spraying for the larvae on canola and mustard fields.

Producers who have grain stored in bins should look out for stored grain insect problems, like rusty grain beetles, red flour beetles and some weevils and mites.

Generally warm, dry weather has allowed for a significant amount of haying progress in the southeast. Moats estimates producers are probably getting close to half done, although they are lagging behind the provincial average of 90 per cent haying completion. While local farmers will not likely see a second cut hay crop, the quality of the second crop in other areas of the province is expected to be superior.

Farmers have continued to battle weeds on crop land that was too wet to seed.