Though this year's harvest has only just begun, a Carman area farmer is already thinking about next year's ground moisture levels and what it means for 2019's crops.

"We're kind of back-to-back fairly dry years, our reserves are gone, the top moisture's gone. We've grown some fairly good crops the last couple years considering how dry it's been, but we're going to need some help getting our soil replenished here with moisture, whether it be from fall rains, snow and spring rains, we're really going to need some help here at some point," said Warren McCutcheon, who takes care of about 2,500 acres between Carman and Homewood.

He says this year soybeans and corn will suffer the greatest at the hand of the dry conditions, but not all crops will take the same hit.

"Some of the early stuff is still fairly good. We're actually seeing really good spring wheat yields, good proteins as well; I'm very happy so far there. I would say the oats were a very average crop, our grass seed was definitely below average, but it just seemed so hot and dry, it was not a good year for that. I think our edible beans are still pretty good too ... they've held on not too bad other than a few spots," he said.

"All you can see corn already starting to die and upper leaves are firing off. Soybeans are starting to turn and wilt definitely prematurely."

McCutcheon says the heat and dryness have prompted an early harvest.

"I would say we're two weeks ahead of schedule. Normally end of August, first week of September is when we're kind of into edible beans; middle of September would be soybeans, and early October would be corn. I would say everything is going to be two weeks advance of that here going forward, I guess unless the weather patterns significantly change," he said.

The producer continues to have an optimistic outlook though, despite the unfavourable conditions.

"That's part of the business and it is what it is. We definitely stress about things like that but there's not a whole lot we can do about it. It's obviously frustrating to kind of watch your crop deteriorate in front of your eyes but we've had other years too where the crop hasn't looked good and we've got lucky and had a late rain," he said.