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Crop conditions improve with rainfall in SE Saskatchewan

The conditions of the various crops in the southeast region have improved with most local areas receiving rainfall in the past week, including this canola field on Friday near Weyburn.
Canola field

The conditions of the various crops in the southeast region have improved with most local areas receiving rainfall in the past week, including this canola field on Friday near Weyburn.

Areas around Weyburn received the highest amounts of rain in the week prior to the weekend, with more rainfall on Sunday and Monday.

The RM of Weyburn recorded 70 mm of rain, with 53 mm in the RM of Brokenshell, 54 mm in the RM of Wellington, and 44 mm in the RM of Tecumseh around Stoughton.

Rainfall in the RM of Francis ranged from 9 to 22 mm, while in Laurier around Radville, the rainfall ranged from 25.6 to 29 mm.

Fields are in multiple stages of development, according to the crop report from Sask. Agriculture.

In the southeast, fall cereals are 59 per cent heading out, 27 per cent in the dough stage and 11 per cent in the shot blade stage, while spring cereals are 11 per cent tillering, 25 per cent in the jointed stage, 38 per cent in the shot blade stage and 24 per cent heading out.

For flax, 17 per cent is in the seedling stage, 66 per cent has stem extensions and 15 per cent is flowering, while canola and mustard is 38 per cent in the rosette stage, and 50 per cent flowering with nine per cent at the seedling stage.

For pulse crops, 34 per cent is in the vegetative stage, 60 per cent is flowering and five per cent is podding.

With the recent rainfall, improved hay and pasture conditions have been reported. About 10 per cent of the hay crop is cut in the southeast, and three per cent was baled or put into silage.

Hay quality is rated as five per cent excellent, 67 per cent is good, 14 per cent is fair and 14 per cent is poor. Pasture conditions are rated as five per cent excellent, 31 per cent is good, 54 per cent is fair, nine per cent is poor and one per cent is very poor.

Topsoil moisture conditions have improved, although fields in the northern part of the southeast region is short for moisture.

Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as one per cent surplus, 82 per cent adequate, 16 per cent short and one per cent very short. Hay and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as four per cent surplus, 69 per cent adequate, 25 per cent short and two per cent very short.

The majority of crop damage this week was from dry conditions in some areas, wind, grasshoppers, gophers and isolated reports of hail.