Estevan and surrounding areas have had several weeks now of very high temperatures. 

"Some areas were fortunate enough to get a little bit of rain but it is nowhere near what we could actually use. Hay swaths are much smaller than normal, much of that is due to the lack of moisture, we didn't really have as much growth early on as we hoped. Many producers have indicated that hay growth so far is anywhere from a quarter less than normal to even 50% or more, certainly hay will be in short supply in many areas this year," explained Acting Cropping Management Specialist Shanon Fresen. 

"In some cases farmers may have to buy hay from other places, certainly more South parts of the province have been dealing with the lack of moisture and of course less bails and less hay. Fortunately there are some producers in the North that have lucked out and got some more rain than others, hopefully we are able to shift the hay bails around a little bit. As time goes on some producers may find that they will actually be cutting some of their grain crops for seed as well." 

The conditions in pastures continue to decline with the lack of rain. 

"They really haven't been growing as much as we would have hoped, things things looked much better of course in April and May when we had all that rain, things have quickly dried up. So for the most part cattle are being moved to where there is adequate growth but as the heat continues and the rainfall doesn't come things will continue to get worse," expressed Fresen. 

"The topsoil moisture has significantly declined since last week, so provincially topsoil moisture on crop land is rated as 3% surplus, 32% adequate, 43% short and 22% very short. On hay land and pasture it is 3% surplus, 26% adequate, 37% short and 34% very short. Much of that short to very short does come from more Southern areas of the province in particular just West of Estevan, around Minton and Radville areas and of course heading all the way to the Alberta border." 

Some of the crop damage is damaging the flowering Canola crops. 

"The high temperatures aren't always welcome when the canola is in full bloom, so we will see some damage to what is called heat blasting which is essentially getting rid of the flowers and the pods. So in some cases Canola compensate but of course as the high temperatures continue we will see more damage," she shared. 

Some producers are getting ready for harvest. 

"It's not unusual for this time of year but it seems like things have been advancing fairly quickly for many producers along the US border. There are indications that desiccation has already happened in some areas and combining will likely start in the next couple of weeks."