With Harvest Complete Saskatchewan Farmers Looking for Rain Before Freeze Up

A Crops Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture says farmers in the drier parts of the province will be looking for more rain before freeze up and snow over the winter.Saskatchewan Agriculture released its final crop report of the season last week.

Tyce Masich, a Crops Extension Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture says, with the harvest considered complete and average yields for all crop types higher than historical averages, farmers are now completing fall work and looking for rain.

Quote-Tyce Masich-Saskatchewan Agriculture:

Topsoil moisture in the eastern half of the province, so the northeast, east central and southeast regions have had pretty well adequate soil moisture over the last couple of months.Some rainfall in there has kept soil moisture levels at a pretty good level and then, as you head west toward the Alberta border, that's where things start to dry up.

Conditions are still pretty dry right now in the northwest, west central and southwest part of the province.I know in the western half of the province there's been less fall fertilizer going down in those areas compared to previous years because of how dry it's been so producers are being a little bit more cautious about fertilizer and spraying decisions.

Certainly, in those western regions producers want to see some more rainfall before freeze up here and then plenty of snowfall this winter to help replenish some of those soil moisture conditions for next year's crop and seeding and what not.Pasture conditions in the province currently heading into the winter really reflect these topsoil moisture conditions, where pastures are generally in good to fair condition in the eastern half of the province and then in the western half conditions decline and are in either fair or poor condition.So, producers would certainly like more moisture to improve pasture conditions as well.

Masich says it was a pretty good year for crop production and producers were happy to have the crops in the bin before the snow flew.