Fields still dry despite rainfall

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This article was published 10/06/2021 (1963 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some Westman farmers are “cautiously optimistic” as rain on Monday night and Tuesday brought much-needed water to crops, but it’s still not enough to get most to normal moisture levels.

The province recorded a range of rainfall across Westman on Tuesday, from more than 30 millimetres of rain at the weather station in Newdale to less than a millimetre in Sinclair.

Andrew Dalgarno, who farms near Newdale, said approximately 30 mm of rain fell on his farm. He wasn’t sure what to expect as the weather system moved through, but the rain is needed after a dry fall and winter.

“We’ve been scouting fields and seeing canola sitting in dry dirt waiting for moisture before it would even germinate, so this rain should get everything up out of the ground and get everything going,” he said.

“An inch and a half today is great, but in another three weeks we’re going to need another shot.”

The lack of moisture hasn’t had a significant impact on Dalgarno’s crop so far and he said the outlook is “pretty decent.”

“I guess ‘cautiously optimistic’ is always a phrase farmers like to use,” he said.

Keystone Agricultural Producers president Bill Campbell, who farms south of Brandon, said he recorded approximately eight millimetres of rain in the most recent system.

As of Wednesday, he said the region is approximately 300 mm of moisture short of where it needs to be. Farmers also saw stress on some plants during last week’s heat wave.

“With that depleted subsoil moisture, the roots have nowhere to go. They’re trying to go down and get whatever moisture there is, but it’s hard to get it back once you lose those opportunities,” he said.

Crops are currently determining their yield potential, so the rain came at a critical time, he said. For some, like pasture and forages, the drought has already had an impact.

Near Isabella, Kendall Heise said the rain largely missed him, dropping only four millimetres since Tuesday afternoon. Heise farms a variety of crops, including wheat, soybeans and canola.

The area saw a decent amount of moisture over the winter from snow, he said, but the surface soil is still dry.

“Typically, we rely on about three inches of rainfall in June, then if we can get another inch or so in July that would be a reasonable amount of moisture … being that we’ve only had one inch towards the end of May, we’ve got a bit of catching up to do,” he said.

Heise said more rain is needed soon, or else farms will start to fall behind.

“It’s always disappointing to miss a rain, but lots of areas got it, so that’s good for them and that’s really good to see,” he said.

Landon Friesen, who farms small grains near Crystal City, said he recorded two to four inches of rain over Monday and Tuesday.

“We’re pretty excited. The crops were going backwards a bit after all that heat and to be able to have some rain on them is pretty exciting,” he said.

There’s still catching up to do, though, as conditions are still dry. Friesen said some canola has been late to germinate due to dryness, but 85 to 95 per cent is now germinated.

“I’m feeling confident about the year so far. What’s in the ground and what’s coming up it looks OK. There’s some rough spots, but for the spring that we’ve had and how dry it’s been, that’s to be expected.”

Despite the rain on Tuesday and forecasted later this week, Campbell said much more is needed to get farmers through the summer.

“Until we get that three-day soaker or that significant rainfall, we’re still living on pins and needles and going week to week … it’s not enough yet to get to the finish line.”

» dmay@brandonsun.com

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