Farmscape for July 10, 2015

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture reports rain that fell from thundershowers over the past week came as great news for those lucky enough to have received it.
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture's crop report for the week of June 30 to July 6 indicates rainfall from scattered thundershowers ranged from 2 millimeters to almost 2 inches.
Integrated pest management specialist Brent Flaten says, if you were lucky enough to be under those showers, that's great news but rainfall has been extremely variable and soil conditions are extremely dry except for patches here and there.

Clip-Brent Flaten-Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture:
Generally the western side of the province, if you drew a line from North Battleford, Saskatoon down through Regina, west of that line it's been extremely dry, very spotty as far as crops.
The crop ratings throughout the province range from poor to good so it's all over the place, a mixed bag just depending on where you are and it could be different from where you are versus 2 miles down the road who got a timely shower.
It tends to be worse on the west side of that line.
One the east side of that line it's patchy.
Some of the areas where they were able to get a good start for the crops, they're relying on the subsoil moisture that's accumulated over the past few wet years.
They're doing pretty good but there's even patches on the eastern side of the province that are very dry too, so it's kind of a mixed bag but it's growing more than just the western side of the province now.

Flaten says the shallow smaller seeded crops such as canola, mustard and canary seed showed very patchy emergence, the winter cereals are headed out and filling and the spring wheat, barley and oats are heading out and progressing but it's certainly not going to be bumper yields.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork