By Geoff Smith

Some areas still need rain as haying begins

Jun 30, 2016 | 2:00 PM

Haying has begun around the province, but a lack of moisture has affected the quality, especially in parts of the northwest.

The Ministry of Agriculture’s crop report for the week ending June 27 says hay growth has been stunted in the northwest region, where seven per cent has been cut and one per cent baled or put into silage. Forty-five per cent of the crop is rated at good quality, 55 per cent fair.

Daphne Cruise, cropping management specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture, said the rain was once again hit-or-miss.

“Precipitation varied across the region but some places didn’t get hardly anything. And then we go to St. Walburg and they got 39 mm up there,” she said.

Meadow Lake received a much-needed 17 mm, with 18 mm falling at Glaslyn. Only a trace amount was reported near the Battlefords.

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“That’s attributed to lack of moisture, especially earlier on in the season, that has stunted the hay crop growth. So yields and quality will be a little bit of an issue for producers in some areas of the northwest,” Cruise added.

Two-thirds of the cropland and nearly half of the hay and pastureland has less than adequate topsoil moisture. But crops are at or ahead of their normal stage of development, and 63 per cent of spring wheat is in good condition, along with 55 per cent of the canola crop and 75 per cent of peas.

Haying is farther along in west-central Saskatchewan, with 13 per cent cut and four per cent baled or in silage.

Quality is significantly better than in the northwest; 22 per cent is rated as excellent, and 67 per cent good. On the other hand, five per cent is very poor quality. The northern part of the region, including the Wilkie and Macklin areas, are drier. In that district, 37 per cent of the crop land and 45 per cent of hay and pastureland is short topsoil moisture.

In both areas farmers are busy haying, and working against pests and diseases.

Geoff Smith is battlefordsNOW’s News Director, business and agriculture reporter. He can be reached at gsmith@jpbg.ca or tweet him @smithco. Concerns regarding this story can be addressed to Geoff at 306-446-6397.