Combines roll in Sask. wheat fields

Winter wheat is 37 per cent harvested

As warm weather continues across Saskatchewan, wheat harvest kicked off a little earlier this year.

“There are reports of the crops maturing especially with these warm temperatures the last few weeks. All the crops are really starting to mature quite quickly, and the wheat is turning in most areas of the province,” said Sara Tetland. She is a crop extension specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.

The latest number from the provincial crop report shows producers have harvested 37 per cent of winter wheat, 1 per cent of spring wheat and 2 per cent of durum.

While official wheat yields aren’t available yet, Tetland is hearing early reports.

People “are saying the yield is around average. Some farmers have noted, if it was quite hot when the seeds were filling, that the heads are a little shorter from being stressed from the heat and they weren't filling properly. So, (producers) aren’t getting quite as much seed as they expected,” Tetland told Farms.com.

The northern areas of the province and some of the later-seeding wheat fields could use some moisture leading up to harvest, said Tetland.

“A little bit of moisture would help ensure we get as much yield as we can,” she said.

Over the next couple of weeks, as harvest moves into full swing, the ministry will develop a better idea of this year’s overall wheat yields, said Tetland.

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