Rod Lanier woke up May 29 to more than five centimetres (two inches) of wet, soggy snow in his southern Alberta yard. “We had quite a surprising amount of snow Saturday morning,” said Lanier of Lethbridge, who was planning to help his neighbour finish seeding.”We have water everywhere,” he said of the one of the wettest springs in recent memory.Lanier is finished seeding, but the new plants are looking pale from having their roots sitting in cold, wet soil. Yet he is not complaining about moisture.”We do not want to be caught bad mouthing the rain,” he said.”It’s a benefit and far more acres will benefit than ones that are under water.”Lynn Jacobson of Enchant, Alta., also received snow and rain, and with seeding only half finished, he is hoping it will stop.”This is delaying us. We got water sitting all over the place. We’ve got sloughs and soft spots through fields,” said Jacobson, who has pumped water out of sloughs this spring.”We had adequate moisture before. I just wish it would have waited for three or four more weeks.”Farther north in Alberta and northern British Columbia, less rain and snow fell, allowing most farmers to finish seeding.In Saskatchewan, seeding progressed little over the past week in wet weather.”It’s very, very wet,” said Grant McLean of Saskatchewan Agriculture. Depending on the area, some farmers won’t be back on the land until the June 5th weekend.”Significant portions of the province still have lots of cropland to seed,” said McLean.”Everybody is starting to be really quite concerned and wondering how soon can we get on. As soon as you get into June, you begin to wonder what crops to plant,” he said. “We have potentially lower yields and harvesting challenges.”McLean said the northwest part of the province is the most advanced, with seeding almost complete.David Spencer, who farms north of Tisdale, Sask., said seeding was 60 percent done as of May 31.He made good progress but others were delayed waiting for anhydrous rigs.Some farmers have floated on their canola seed and tried harrowing it in.Since May 22, Spencer has recorded 76 millimetres of rain.And time is getting short, he said.”September 11 is the mean date for our first frost,” he said. “Growing dates are getting down.”Andy Nadleur of Manitoba Agriculture estimated seeding is nearing completion across the province, but rain over the weekend delayed seeding or spraying.Nadleur wondered how long the water would remain and how long the seedlings could tolerate standing in excess water.In Emerson, Man., heavy rains on saturated fields are troubling farmers. The rivers are high and the creeks and tributaries are backed up, not allowing fields to drain.Ian Wishart, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, said he missed the worst of the wet weather near his farm at Portage la Prairie, Man., but still managed to receive more than 101 mm (four inches) of rain in three storms over the weekend.Some producers estimated they will need to reseed 30 to 50 percent of their crop.”The crops just emerging are at a very vulnerable stage,” Wishart said.”This has definitely slowed us down.”Despite the rain, seeding is ahead of normal in Manitoba. Warm, dry weather in April allowed farmers to finish early. Hay and pasture land was given a boost.”The hay and pasture look great as long as the water eventually gets away,” said Wishart.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
