CROP REPORT FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 19TH

Cool, wet weather continues to slow harvest, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization's weekly crop report.

Province-wide, 17 per cent of the 2004 crop has been combined, compared to the five-year average of 67 per cent. Combining is most advanced in the southwest, where 37 per cent of the crop is off, and least advanced in the northwest, where three per cent is off.

Fall rye is 60 per cent combined, winter wheat is 52 per cent, peas are 56 per cent, lentils are 54 per cent and mustard is 30 per cent combined. Spring wheat, oats, flax, canola, sunflowers, canary seed and chickpeas are all less than 10 per cent combined. Much of the grain that has been combined has been taken off tough and dried with dryers or aeration bins.

Frost, insects and weathering are causing the most crop damage. Reports of lodging, bleaching, staining, and sprouting continue. Migrating geese, ducks and cranes are also damaging fields. Cool, damp weather has prevented crops from drying or ripening. A prolonged stretch of warm, dry weather is necessary in order to complete harvest this fall.

More fall rye and winter wheat was seeded during the past week. The slow harvest is expected to cause a decrease in acreage seeded to fall crops.

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For More Information, Contact:

Terry Bédard Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization Regina Phone: (306) 787-5956