By Rod Nickel
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, July 13 (Reuters) - Heavy rain and strong winds are likely to curb the potential for Western Canada's crops, government officials said, but the harvest may still be bigger than average.
Pockets across Saskatchewan, Canada's biggest wheat- and canola-growing province, received as much as 5 inches (127 millimeters) of rain, strong winds and hail since Sunday.
The storms flattened some wheat and may cause disease in the province's lentil and pea crops, which are sensitive to wet conditions, Brent Flaten, a spokesman for Saskatchewan's agriculture ministry, said on Wednesday.
"Everything is going to be downgraded now as far as yield potential," Flaten said, adding that crops were still in good condition relative to past years.
The extent of crop damage may not be clear for a week, depending on how quickly flooded fields drain and whether flattened crops rise again, he said.
Favorable spring and summer weather has led to estimates of a larger than average Western Canadian harvest this year. Canada is a major wheat exporter and the largest canola exporter.
The storms also reached Manitoba, where they flattened cereal crops, the government said on Monday. GRO/MBA
Alberta, by contrast, received only beneficial rains in the past week for cereal, oilseed and pulse crops, said government crop specialist Neil Whatley.