The hot conditions were a double edged sword for crop development, haying operations, and moisture conditions in Saskatchewan.
The provincial crop report, released Thursday morning and covering the period of July 21-27, states hot and humid weather helped crops that were behind development, but it also had a negative impact on crops in drier areas.
Most winter cereals and spring cereals are in good to excellent condition, while oilseed crops are "largely in good condition" and "now out of the flowering stage" and "approximately two-thirds to three-quarters of pulse crops are in good to excellent condition."
However, the report notes some oilseed crops have been stressed during the flowering stage from the high temperatures and some pulse crops are in "poor condition due to moisture stress earlier in the growing season".
The heat brought down topsoil moisture for crop land, hay land, and pasture land across the province.
Cropland moisture is rated five per cent surplus, 67 per cent adequate, 27 per cent short, and one per cent very short. Hayland moisture is rated four per cent surplus, 64 per cent adequate, 31 per cent short, and one per cent very short. Pasture moisture is rated two per cent surplus, 58 per cent adequate, 36 per cent short; and four per cent very short.
Provincial Pest Regulatory Specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture Tyse Masich notes the hot weather benefited crops in the northern and eastern areas but started to dry out crops in the southern and western areas.
He said the south and west "could use a good shot of rain…to help crops fill seed and develop pods" but for the northern and east-central regions, the lower soil moisture levels "is definitely a good thing because they've had surplus moisture for weeks on end it seems like, and it's good that fields there have dried up a little bit."
There wasn't much rain this past week as the Coleville area recorded 25 millimetres (mm), followed by the Calder area 24 mm, the Rabbit Lake area 22 mm, and other areas reported between 10 and 20 mm.
The lack of rain allowed farmers to get into the field for fungicide spraying, which is winding down.
Additional progress was made on haying operations a 50 per cent of the first cut of hay crops have been baled or silaged, 28 per cent of have been cut and are in swath, and 22 per cent remaining standing, states the crop report. The quality of the first cut of hay is 29 per cent excellent, 62 per cent good, and nine per cent fair.
Regarding the second cut of hay, six per cent of it has been cut and one per cent was baled or silaged. The second hay cut is in fair to good quality.
Producers in the southwest are done haying while those in the eastern part of the province are still in full swing, Masich said.
Heat stress was among the factors for crop damage over the last week, with producers in the south and western areas hoping for some rain to help crops set seed.
Masich said there were "isolated thunderstorms in northern parts of the province that brought pretty strong winds and caused a bit of lodging in some crops…but not widespread."
Damage from cabbage seed pod weevil, aphids and gophers were also reported, mainly in the south.
The focus is now shifting to getting ready for harvest, including servicing equipment, cleaning out bins, and planning desiccation.
Masich has heard a couple of cases in the southwest of early-seeded lentils being desiccated.
"That just signals that harvest is closer than we think and could kick off in the coming weeks." he said.
