20 Oct 09- Unkind October for combining

Little wonder that harvest progress has been minimal in recent weeks. The past thirty days have been a lot wetter than normal in most parts of Saskatchewan. The precipitation map published by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for September 19 to October 18 shows a wide north – south band where precipitation has been more than double the norm. The wet band includes Prince Albert, Melfort, Wynyard, Regina, Weyburn and Estevan. Rainfall amounts are in the two to three inch range. East of the heaviest band, including locations like Saskatoon and Moose Jaw, precipitation has been 1.5 times normal. That’s also the case east of the band. Province wide, only small areas around Meadow Lake in the northwest and in the southwest corner, just east of Consul have had below normal precipitation for the past month. Unfortunately for the many producers still struggling with harvest, the weather forecast over the upcoming week is calling for more rain and/or snow. There may not be a lot of precipitation, but it appears that combining progress will be isolated and limited. October is turning out to be an ugly month for getting grain in the bin. I’m Kevin Hursh.