Farmers throughout Saskatchewan continued to make progress on the 2021 harvest last week, despite some regions receiving rain. The most recent edition of the weekly crop report from the provincial Ministry of Agriculture, released Thursday, showed 36 percent of the crop has now been harvested, which is well above the five-year average of 22 percent. Another 30 percent of the crop is swathed or ready for straight cut.  

The most progress is in the southwest region, where 47 percent of the crop is combined. In the southeast, 42 percent is in the bin, with 36 percent in the west-central region, 25 percent in the east-central, 34 percent in the northeast and 21 percent in the northwest.  

The rains in recent weeks have improved topsoil moisture conditions, while also hampering harvest. Cor cropland, topsoil moisture is rated one percent surplus, 40 percent adequate, 34 percent short and 35 percent very short. When it comes to hay and pasture land, 28 percent is rated adequate, 43 percent short and 29 percent very short.  

The damage reported in crops in the past week was mainly due to heavy rains, as well as hail, strong winds, insects and continued impacts from the drought. The rain has also caused the downgrading of crops still in the field with the biggest issues reported being bleaching, staining, sprouting, low kernel weights and fungal growth. Yields are far lower than average for much of the province, with some fields even yielding next to nothing.