UNITY - Harvest of winter cereals and pulse crops has just begun in the region. In the driest areas of the region, crops are struggling through the hot weather and have begun to rapidly mature. Producers can no longer wait and must begin to harvest the ripest of their crops.
In areas that were lucky to receive some timely rains the crops do not appear to have suffered as much although they still are not expected to yield well. The recent rain may help later seeded crops, but most crops are so far along that any rain now will not improve their conditions.
The rain received this past week will hopefully give pastures and hay land some relief and allow for some regrowth. This would give producers the chance to fall graze some of their land. The Unity area received 53 mm, the Dinsmore area 46 mm, and the Smiley and Rosetown areas 11 mm. Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as 65 per cent adequate, 31 per cent short and four per cent very short. Hay and pasture land topsoil moisture is rated as 53 per cent adequate, 39 per cent short and eight per cent very short.
Warm, dry conditions are drying down pastures in the region and producers are hoping for more rain to help rejuvenate pasture growth. Pasture conditions are rated as 34 per cent good, 44 per cent fair, 18 per cent poor and four per cent very poor.
The majority of crop damage this week was due to drought, heat, wind and hail. Large swaths of the region were rocked by hail storms this past week leaving many fields cut right down to nothing. Grasshoppers are still large contributors to crop damage as well. Producers have sprayed multiple times to keep them under control but in some cases the grasshoppers are too many.
