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Rain welcomed by Northwest Sask. farmers

Jun 16, 2016 | 12:00 PM

Rain was a welcome sight again for many farmers in northwestern Saskatchewan.

“I think rain was the major story for the northwest and west-central area this week,” Daphne Cruise, cropping management specialist for the ministry of Agriculture, said following the release of the crop report for the week ending June 13. Parts of the region which had been missed by earlier showers had eventually had their turn.

“It sounds like the Meadow Lake area last Wednesday received anywhere from a half inch to one and a half inches, so that’s definitely helping out those crops there,” Cruise said, adding there was more rain Tuesday which will be reflected in next week’s report.

Some listed amounts include 21 mm near Pierceland and Meadow Lake, to 10 mm in Loon Lake, and another 13 mm in Frenchman Butte, an area which has had well over 100 mm of rain since April 1. The Battlefords area recorded 2 mm during the week, for a total of 41 mm since April 1.

“There were some places up in the northwest that just had over an inch since April 1,” Cruise explained. “Some of those crops were starting to show some signs of stress and the hay crop up there was looking a little short, I think, for some producers. I think this rain is definitely welcome for sure.”

She said some of the driest areas, stretching from Duck Lake to as far south as Outlook, are pulling down the crop development averages in the west-central region. Roughly 10 per cent of the spring cereals, oilseeds, and pulses in the area are considered behind in their development. Hay and pasture land in the region are particularly dry, and the lack of moisture is stressing crops, hay, and pastures.

Cruise said producers are taking advantage of gaps in the rain to perform weed control and check for certain diseases.

The last of the seeding was expected this week, with progress at 99.5 per cent, currently. The five-year average is 94 per cent.

 

gsmith@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @smithco