Frequent rainfall and a lack of warmth are a cause of concern for area farmers - crops aren't in danger yet, but a turnaround is needed soon.

Flooding is occuring in low-lying areas in this part of the province, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food's weekly crop report. This hinders spraying and cultivating operations and increases concerns about fungal diseases. Some farmers are using aerial spraying in order to apply chemical, while others won't get their crops sprayed because of the wet, windy weather.

"The big factor right now is that the cool temperatures early on really delayed crop growth in general," said agrologist Elaine Moats. "Wheat seeded in April should be headed and while a bit is, most show a big delay for their planting date. The overriding concern for people is the need for some warm weather."

Brad Hansen of Weyburn Inland Terminal said the cooler weather has made canola and peas look quite good. However, he said there are concerns about disease because of the moisture. Tan spot has been found in durum and net blotch has been found in barley. Causing most concern is the discovery of ascochyta blight in chick peas which have the potential to be a valuable crop this year.

"We're seeing disease in chick peas much earlier than usual," said Hansen. ""The concern is that producers may have to apply fungicide more often than they'd like to control it."

Producers have barely started bringing in hay crops; again moisture is a factor. Moats said hay crops are fairly good, but are shorter because of the dry fall and winter and damp spring. The new crops in their first or second years of cutting are doing extremely well because their root system is less affected by dryness. Also benefiting from the dampness are pastures, where grazing actually improves the ability of pasture to regenerate itself, said Moats.

Avery Andreas, manager of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in Tribune, said crops are also a little behind in the Tribune and Oungre area.

"We need the sun to get things moving," said Andreas. "We're probably a bit ahead from last year, but probably behind more than we thought because of the slow growing season so far."

Provincially, spring crop development is on par or slightly ahead of a five-year average (1995-99). About 52 per cent of spring cereals are at or past the jointed stage, compared to 21 per cent last week and a historical average of 42 per cent at this time of the growing season.

Reports have been made about hail damage from three storms that cut a swath over the weekend around the Minton area and the RMs of Laurier, Lomond, Scott, Wellington, Fillmore, and Griffin. The extent of the damage will be evaluated over the next two weeks, as it is difficult to judge this early on how much a crop will recover or how hail will affect maturity dates.