A storm that dumped 10 to 50 centimetres of snow across western Manitoba and up to 50 mm of rain on other parts of the province over the weekend could delay seeding by two or more weeks in Manitoba’s Parkland region, says a Manitoba Agriculture representative in Dauphin.
“It’s going to take two weeks,” said Jim Heshka, Manitoba Agriculture crop production adviser.
“The soils that were in trouble because of excess moisture last year … there’s going to be late seeding again, no doubt about it.”
The April 30-May 1 blizzard delivered snow and rain to most of southern Manitoba, although the proportion of snow to rain in the province varied, depending on location.
The spring storm prompted fears that already high water levels in the Assiniboine, Souris and Red rivers would rise even higher.
However, flood forecasters with Manitoba Water Stewardship announced yesterday that the precipitation would prolong high flows in the province’s major rivers but wouldn’t cause water levels to exceed crests achieved in late April.
For producers like Rob Brunel, who farms near Ste. Rose du Lac, Man., the storm means he won’t be seeding until the middle of May at the earliest.
“I would take a guess that we (have) at least a foot (of snow). I got stuck in my yard with my truck…. If you walk into the bush, there’s probably two feet of snow,” said Brunel, who grows soybeans, canola, oats, barley and wheat and was planning to start seeding around May 7.
“I don’t know where we are now. I would like to think two weeks (later), but it depends on how warm it gets.”
Brunel described the spring blizzard as an irritation but not a disaster.
However, folks around Ste. Rose are sick of snow after a long winter.
“I don’t want to call it the end of the world, but it’s pretty gloomy around here these days.”
