After a week of 30+ temperatures and dry conditions, farmers are finally seeing some more moisture on their fields.

Thunderstorms over the weekend and persisting today have brought moisture where it's needed, while cloud cover keeps the sun from baking crops in the field.

southeast Saskatchewan was especially lucky, as storms that passed through the area didn't make it far across Manitoba's border.

Local farmer Edgar Hammermeister says that the area around Estevan and southeast Saskatchewan as a whole is doing well this time of year.

"In our area, we're looking good. We're gonna have an opportunity for a good average crop if not a little bit better," said Hammermeister, "I hate to say this myself because the crop is not in the bin, but I'm thinking about all of the other areas in the prairies that are suffering tremendously. 

"In our area around Estevan to the Manitoba border, we've been very fortunate in getting a few showers of rain and having the crops look relatively decent compared to a few other places."

While rain and cloud cover have been creeping into Saskatchewan, smoke is also blanketing the prairies due to a combination of Manitoba and Saskatchewan fires.

Hammermeister says that though the fires are bad  - the smoke is providing niche benefits for crops.

"We're getting a benefit from it. If we didn't have this smoke in the air, we would be getting hit directly by sunlight," said Hammermeister, "The heat would be far more intense, the smoke is being a bit of a shield for us filtering the intense sunlight. So we're receiving a benefit from someone else's chances.

"The little bit higher amount of carbon dioxide level in the air from the fires will be helping crops grow a bit more efficiently, with the amount of water that's available to the crop, but it's not a specific approach you want to take - counting on forest fires to help your crop along."

Hammermeister also said that southeast Saskatchewan has made out well the past few days, compared to other nearby areas.

"I'm pleasantly surprised by how the crops have been hanging on, we even sense a little bit of humidity in our part of the province," said Hammermeister, "But talking with colleagues in southwest Saskatchewan or the red river valley in Manitoba, they don't have any moisture."