Harvest operations are on hold throughout the Weyburn district due to the weekend's rainfall, leaving this area behind the rest of the province.

The Weyburn district overall is about 15 per cent complete this year's harvest, and no more will be done until the fields dry out from the moisture which fell for much of the Labour Day weekend, in addition to some showers which went through the area earlier last week.

"We've had a few more showers than other areas did, but we also had more showers at seeding time as well. Within the district there were places that didn't receive as heavy a shower so some were able to get more combining done. It's really piece-meal right now," said agrologist Elaine Moats.

The rainfall over the weekend was general for the whole district, she said, with total accumulations ranging from a few tenths of an inch to three-quarters of an inch. Towards Regina, some areas had less moisture, so even the showers were spotty throughout the region.

Yield and quality of grains has also been all over the map, said Moats, due to the variable conditions of land and weather this growing season.

For lentils, yields have been reported anywhere from seven to 30 bushels an acre, depending on whether the land had been flooded or if the crops were diseased.

Pea crops have been a little more consistent, with yields ranging from 30 to 50 bushels to the acre, and wheat yields have ranged from 15 to 25 bushels.

The quality of the crops has been variable for wheat and durum, said Moats, and for barley, "we've had everything from straight test weight to average weight, and some have reported getting malt quality barley."

The unknown variable will be what effect the rain will have, and how long the fields and crops are wet before drying weather comes again.

"It's something we'll have to wait and see. It depends on what stage of maturity it was at, when they were swathed and so on. This moisture won't affect canola, and in fact may help to get rid of green seed count. It may contribute to staining and weight loss in cereals," said Moats.

"It's always a guessing game to know (the rainfall's effect)," she added.