Harvest is essentially complete for producers in the province, with 98 per cent of the crop now in the bin, up from 94 per cent last week, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Weekly Crop Report.  The five year (2012-2016) average for this time of year is 94 per cent harvested.  There are still some crops, such as flax, soybean and canola, left to harvest, and most of these producers will only need another week or two of warm and dry conditions to finish.

The southeastern, southwestern and east-central regions all have 99 per cent of the crop combined, while the west-central region has 98 per cent.  The northeastern region has 96 per cent of the crop in the bin and the northwestern region has 95 per cent.

Ninety-nine per cent of canaryseed, 98 per cent of durum, spring wheat, oats and barley, 95 per cent of canola, 91 per cent of soybeans and 87 per cent of flax have been combined.

"Flax tends to be a very tough crop to combine at the best of times, so now that we've had some hard frosts, hopefully those crops are able to dry down and farmers will be able to actually get in the field and get them off," said Shannon Friesen, a Cropping Management Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture.

The crop report flashed back to 2016, where frequent snow and rain was halting progress across the province. At this time last year, the harvest was only at 81 percent, and producers were unable to get to the fields for a while. Some couldn't get back into the combine until freeze up. 

"We did see the bulk of that 81 percent come off in late October, heading into November. And of course, we all heard reports of producers combining well into the winter and even May and June. We certainly lucked out this year, and it's more typical."

The majority of the province received no moisture this past week, although areas in the northwest received small amounts of rain and snow, with the Meadow Lake reporting 11 mm.

It's still the same story...topsoil moisture conditions have remained relatively unchanged over the last few weeks, and significant moisture will be needed to replenish both the topsoil and subsoil before next spring.  Across the province, topsoil moisture on cropland is rated as 43 per cent adequate, 40 per cent short and 17 per cent very short.  Hay land and pasture topsoil moisture is rated as 33 per cent adequate, 45 per cent short and 22 per cent very short.

The majority of crop damage this past week was due to strong winds and wildlife such as geese and deer.  Hard frosts last week have helped dry crops such as flax.

The gale force winds that made their way across the prairies, gusting over 130 kilometers per hour in areas, also had their effect on the agricultural sector.

"Luckily, we were better off because we had most of the crop removed, but for producers who had any swathed crops out there, those were completely blown away. We've heard that the topsoil has blown quite a bit as well, it's ended up in ditches, across the road and miles down. We had some reports that cattle were impacted from fires and wind, but for the most part in terms of crop, other than being blown away and having some standing stuff shelled out, maybe some bins knocked over, we did remain relatively okay," Friesen shared, adding that they have heard of a lot of equipment and structures suffering damage. That said, it most likely will not affect the final stages of harvest in any major way.

If conditions are right, the final 2 percent of the crop could be off in as little as a week, though weather factors may play into that.

Producers are busy completing combining and fall work, moving cattle and hauling grain and bales.

SaskPower received six reports last week of farm machinery coming in contact with electrical equipment, bringing the total for October to 13.  Producers are urged to be especially careful when using equipment around power lines.

Farmers will still be hoping for the moisture to arrive in some form or another before winter, so the topsoil can finally replenish.