Saskatchewan farmers looking for rain

Almost all Saskatchewan producers have completed their seeding operations, and now they’re looking for moisture to replenish the topsoil.

Rain fell in many areas of the province over the last week, with the southeast and east-central regions receiving the highest amounts. The Calder area reported the highest rainfall amount at 36 millimetres (mm) followed by the Stockholm area at 35 mm and the Rocanville area at 34 mm.

Regions that did not receive significant amounts of precipitation have noted that rainfall is needed soon to avoid serious crop damage.

The latest drought monitor map from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada shows an area of extreme drought covering much of northeast and north-central Saskatchewan. It is also dry in most other parts of the province except for the southeast.

The Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan monitors surface soil moisture conditions about 40 kilometres east of Saskatoon. It says shallow topsoil moisture has not been this low in the past 11 years of measurement.

With sporadic rain across the province, moisture conditions overall remained at similar levels as last week and some areas continued to see a decline.

Cropland topsoil moisture is rated as two per cent surplus, 44 per cent adequate, 42 per cent short and 12 per cent very short.