The West Central region had a solid week of harvest progress alongside the rest of the province looking at the Ministry of Agriculture crop report for September 2-8.
Harvest is 27 per cent done around the region, up 10 per cent from last week, but still well behind the five-year average of 62 per cent and 10-year average of 51 per cent. The report data shows that winter cereals are finished, and harvest is nearly complete for field peas and lentils. Triticale was 50 per cent, barley at 36, oats at 23, and durum at 20 per cent harvested. Spring wheat is 16 per cent done, and canary seed is close behind at 15. Canola leads oilseeds at 9 per cent, followed by mustard at 5 and flax at 3 per cent. Chickpeas are 18 per cent complete, and soybeans sit at 5 per cent.
Part of the reason for an accelerated harvest as of late has been the lack of rain. According to the Ministry report, no precipitation was recorded in any part of the region over the past week, an unwelcome sign for producers as more rain would replenish soil moisture levels and improve declining pasture conditions.
With that recent trend it's no surprise that topsoil moisture declined significantly in the region due to the lack of moisture and heat, cropland topsoil moisture currently 48 per cent adequate, 45 per cent short and seven per cent very short, hayland tracking along at 42 per cent adequate, 52 per cent short and six per cent very short, pasture topsoil also seeing tough conditions with 38 per cent adequate, 55 per cent short and seven per cent very short
Yield estimations are varied around the region with some crops actually reporting better than expected. Bushel estimates out of the report see producers looking at 51 bushels per acre for hard red spring wheat, 47 bushels per acre for durum, 89 bushels per acre for oats, 70 bushels per acre for barley, 44 bushels per acre for canola, 49 bushels per acre for field peas and 2,148 pounds per acre for lentils (full table HERE)
Crop damage during the week was mainly due to nature. Wind, dry conditions, and even frost entering the picture caused some problems but thankfully only minor to moderate damage was reported.