Seeding is one to two weeks behind normal in many parts of the Prairies and flooding continues. The situation has farmers wondering what it will do to yields. The answer may come from a four-year study of staggered seeding dates conducted by Alberta Agriculture in the southern portion of that province. The study revealed a […] Read more
Weather — page 101
Yields already in jeopardy
Flooding Sask. rivers begin to wreak havoc
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – The cattle didn’t appear too nervous as they dug into a bale while the Moose Jaw River rose around them. However, the people watching the water’s rapid rise and the large chunks of ice crashing their way down the rolling water certainly were. The owner was in Toronto, and the water […] Read more
Anxiety rising in Sask.
ST. BRIEUX, Sask. – Tensions are rising along with water levels in the Lenore Lake drainage basin, a closed watershed in central Saskatchewan that is experiencing its highest water levels since the 1920s. At Lenore Lake, about 150 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, water levels have already risen by nearly two metres in the last five […] Read more
Weather, rail issues biggest concern in Alberta
The Conservative Party is offering a modest proposal to farmers in its 2011 election campaign platform, with small on-farm innovation funding and a revival of items in its defeated budget. Total new spending offered is slightly more than $200 million over five years. But on the ground in rural Alberta last week, other issues were […] Read more
Spring storm creates havoc
SHAUNAVON, Sask. – The snowplows aren’t usually busy in southwestern Saskatchewan at the end of March, but three times the normal snow this winter has kept them out on the roads. “It’s been a catastrophe,” said Don Lundberg, reeve of the rural municipality of Arlington. That was before a late blast of snow hit the […] Read more
Flurries, rain increase flooding worries in southern Alberta
A storm that covered much of southern Alberta with rain and heavy, wet snow April 1-2 has increased concerns about flooded farmland and municipal roads. Tom Thacker, reeve of the County of 40 Mile, said April 4 that more than 200 municipal roads are submerged in places, and the situation is similar in the neighbouring […] Read more
Drilling deep for more accurate runoff
Five teams spread out across Saskatchewan last week for the first time in more than a decade to conduct snow surveys on farmland. They are trying to determine the snow’s moisture content to better predict runoff. “It’s been a while since it has been this high of a threat of runoff,” said John Fahlman, acting […] Read more
Spring runoff could deal crippling blow to Foam Lake area farmers
FOAM LAKE, Sask. – Farmers and landowners in low-lying areas around Foam Lake are bracing for another battle in their fight against spring flooding. Last year, the Foam Lake area, including Fishing Lake, received roughly 1,000 millimetres of rain between April 1 and freeze-up. Record precipitation created waterlogged fields, overflowing wetlands and shallow inland lakes […] Read more
Manitoba remains on flood alert
An early spring snowstorm that dumped 50 centimetres of snow on parts of North Dakota last week should cause only a slight increase in water levels on Manitoba’s Red River this spring, say provincial forecasters. However, peak water levels along the Red will likely exceed 2009 by 0.4 to 0.7 metres, forecasters announced March 25 […] Read more
Money needed for water control infrastructure
Provincial, federal and municipal politicians are urged to spend more money on programs that provide permanent funding for improvements to water infrastructure, including storm sewers, dikes, berms and drainage channels. Jim Gerhardt, acting vice-president of the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, said communities and municipalities throughout Saskatchewan will be dealing with excess water this spring and facing […] Read more
