The provincial Ministry of Agriculture released the weekly crop report Thursday morning, and harvest is progressing in southeast Saskatchewan. Producers now have 35 percent of the 2023 crop in the bin, ahead of the five-year average of 31 percent. It is also ahead of the provincial mark of 33 percent.  

Fall cereals have seen significant progress in the past week, with the harvest of winter wheat now 80 percent complete, and fall rye 93 percent complete. The harvest for field peas and lentils is almost wrapped up as well, sitting at 82 and 78 percent respectively.  

For spring-seeded cereals, 38 percent of spring wheat, 41 percent of durum, 51 percent of barley and 33 percent of oats have been harvested. When it comes to the oilseeds, 49 percent of mustard is now in the bin and 10 percent of canola has been harvested so far.  

The soil moisture continues to diminish, however, with a few scattered showers in the region. For cropland, the topsoil moisture is rated as 28 percent adequate, 39 percent short and 33 percent very short. As for hay and pasture land, they are rated 16 percent adequate, 53 percent short and 32 percent very short.  

There was some crop damage reported in the past week. It was primarily due to stress from the drought conditions, grasshoppers and wind. With the harvest coming along rather quickly, many producers are hoping for late-season rain to help replenish the topsoil moisture levels ahead of the winter.  

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