A trivia game about Saskatchewan would inevitably include questions about the weather, and a good question for 2011 might be: which part of the province received the most rain?
Many areas were flooded and soggy, but Stockholm and surrounding area received the most precipitation. The region received 617 millimetres of rain between April 1 and Oct. 10, according to the provincial crop report.
The Bengough area was second highest at 609 mm while Ceylon received 575 mm.
Arlynn Kurtz, reeve of the Rural Municipality of Fertile Belt, was worried six weeks into the growing season when one-third of that rainfall had already fallen and repair costs had already exceeded $1 million.
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Further south, Coalfields reeve Stan Lainton didn’t turn a wheel in 2011. In early December, he said the RM was still grappling with washouts and road repair.
The fact that many farmers couldn’t get to their fields contributed to the estimated 6.2 million acres that weren’t seeded. Another 2.2 million acres were subsequently flooded out.
The dry, long fall that followed may prove to be a godsend for southeastern Saskatchewan.
Doug Johnson, director of regional services for the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, said fall conditions were better than they were in 2010.
“We have moist soil conditions (and) sloughs are full, but I don’t think we’re in the same situation as 2010,” he said at a November meeting.
But even with normal snow pack, runoff will be above normal next spring.
How that affects farming operations remains to be seen.
Farmers in southeastern Saskatchewan took advantage of the fall to seed more winter wheat and fall rye. Acreage increased 74 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
Total seeded acreage in the province in 2011 was about a million acres.
Yields were generally average to above-average. Quality and grade were above the 10-year average, with downgrading caused by hail, frost, ergot and wheat midge.
By fall, many regions reported that excess topsoil moisture had dried up. Fifteen percent of cropland was considered to have surplus moisture in the southeast, while six percent was short.
That compared to two percent excess and six percent very short in the southwest, three percent surplus and three percent very short in east-central, and one percent surplus and 10 percent very short in west-central.
The northern regions reported no surplus moisture.
The northwest reported eight percent very short and the northeast reported 24 percent short.
The area that saw the least precipitation was Lake Lenore with 149 mm, followed by Maple Creek at 174 mm.
