After a spring and summer with very little moisture, ultimately leading to drought for multiple months, a lot of the harvest across the prairies was very far below what was to be expected.

The results of this year's harvest could also be felt into next year since many farmers depend on other producers for their seed, which this year looks to be very thin.

That could lead to complications when it comes time to order up some more, which will be happening fairly soon as farmers look to order seed for their 2022 crop.

President of the Saskatchewan Seed Growers Association Mike Shewchuk details just how far behind the average they are.

"Across the board, everything was done," said Shewchuk, "We personally saw a fraction of what we normally harvest and it's a similar story across the province. Some areas fared a little bit better, but across the board, due to the drought things are at a fraction of normal production."

While the different conditions crops and their varieties thrive in can often be wide, Shewchuk says that there aren't any plants that came out well after the harvest.

"I would say all crops are really affected just because we saw drought across all parts of the province," said Shewchuk, "Nothing really stood out with the amount of hard drought we had, lack of moisture paired with the extreme heat on top of it, there really wasn't a whole lot of different crops that fared well through it."

The best advice Shewchuk says he can give to farmers is to get their seed orders in early since shortages are expected for many varieties, especially the newer ones.

"I would definitely advise farmers to speak to their seed suppliers fairly quickly here. You're not going to be able to get the variety that you're particularly gonna want. New varieties will definitely be in short supply," said Shewchuk, "I guess I'd just advise farmers to look at booking their seeds a lot earlier this year."

A pair of other factors according to Shewchuk include commercial grain contracts, as producers aren't able to provide extra seed due to obligations, and another factor is a very volatile market.