As (mostly) hot, dry conditions persist, the 2017 harvest is moving along swiftly.

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture released their latest crop report Thursday, saying that harvest is ahead of the five-year average.  According to their news release, 14% of the crop is in the bin, compared to the average of 8% for this time of year. They add that 15% is swathed or ready to be straight cut.

The southwest part of the province is the furthest ahead at 30%, with the southeast at 23%.

"We probably have a week on canola, a week on red spring wheat, then a week on soybeans, so three to four weeks (until we're finished)," said Eyebrow-area farmer Corey Doerksen. 

Doerksen chuckled at Mother Nature's unpredictability, especially in his region northwest of Moose Jaw. 

"I don't know if there's been an average year," he said. "The last three years we've received 30 inches of rain and this year we got two inches of rain."

That lack of rainfall is reflected in the Ministry's numbers, indicating topsoil moisture is not doing well, with only 1% rated surplus while nearly 70% is rated at short or very short.

However, Doerksen and others are saying that there has been enough reserve moisture in the ground to keep crop quality higher than expected. 

"It's been dry and the crops are amazingly good for how dry it is," said Mossbank farmer Art Weiss. "Quite amazing."

Additionally, SaskPower has issued a reminder to farmers to be careful when moving equipment from field to field, as there were 12 reports of machinery contacting power lines, four in the last week.