1988-- Anybody Remember?

[JDGreen]

Bucket it is dry here. Only 20mm total in 5 different rain events. Driest spring ever, in fact can't remember it ever this dry and bleak mid June. Crops are hanging in fairly well and a good rain within 10 days would make for some very good lentil, durim and canola crops. Peas are teetering on being done as they will start flowering at 8" tall and very little moisture available. Have had a couple areas receive a couple timely 1/2" showers and crops are quite nice. If no rain in next two weeks it will be grim for sure

[Cattleman]

It is interesting to think back. I remember we had flax where nothing came up except in the tractor tracks. Rain finally came after the June heatwave.

For us though 2002 was by far our worst year ever. Had some pasture that didn't even turn green until September. Combine didn't move that year. We had finally given up and we're going to make green feed with our oats. Went out the next day and nothing left as grasshoppers had stripped everything.

[sawfly]

went down to just east of rosetown to buy a ih belt pickup.
the guy was narrowing the hole on a 28 ft. PT swather to about 2 ft.
he had another 28 with a carry over and was going to double swath on top of the narrow one.
it was worse down there.
rains did come in late june here .
we got from 15 to 30.
i never want to see land blow like that again.

02 was the worst ever here.
complete write off.
tried to combine my new Carnival peas grown for seed.
yeilded 2 bushel of grass hoppers and
1 bushell of peas.
dumped it in the slough

[bucket]

I gave only had 3mm of rain on half the farm so far since may 1st.

Crops are patchy and I am not sure a rain will help.

[cottonpicken]

Here is a dumb question,how far does sub soil moisture get you in those condition,different answer for different zones though.

[highwayman]

1980, my first year with permit book, crops were good for half and half, 35 bushel wheat and durum, 25 bushel lentils. 84 dry, 85 drier, 106 degrees 10th of August . 87 rained all flipping harvest and then had to miss Marios goal against the Russians. Biatch!! 88 fuget about it!! Cereals written off in July , 5 bushel and less. 2002 very good year here. Very fortunate this year as things here aren't looking to bad. Wouldn't say no to another rain though. Hope everyone gets some. Salute , time for another chelada

[HFL]

Subsoil moisture has got us to this point, our crops look okay. I think even if it doesn't rain all summer we could still grow a bit of crop but that also depends on how hot it gets. My guess is that if we had a week of 30 degrees or hotter we would grow nothing.

[HFL]

In 88 we had very little sub moisture. We got a couple of tenths here and there and harvested about 10 bushels per acre. This year good sub moisture but can't even get a few tenths here and there.

[farmaholic]

In 1988 I was more concerned about moisture in other areas....

[freewheat]

2003 we had excellent crops, and survived mostly on subsoil. We got around 3 inches of rain all summer, but we had had a pile of rain the prior fall, and a decent snow pack. How well subsoil gets one by is very dependent on the heat indeed.

We are very fortunate right here. It is mud a couple inches down, and stuff is really taking off. I was going to seed some forage oats and then it rained, and now I have alfalfa seed ordered, because it will be easy to seed it a half inch deep and get a good catch.

I have said many times, when it is dry generally on the prairies, our area usually gets a bumper. It is shaping up that way so far this year. I am torn though, by the situation I hear and read about out there. I would rather we all got the weather we needed...

[grefer]

I don't remember the yield we had in 1988 but I do remember my golf game improved because there was no hay to harvest. 2002 was my worst year, brutal grasshoppers in 2003 but decent moisture and good crop in 2004 that froze in August. This year is shaping up like 2002 only with subsoil moisture.

[TOM4CWB]

Grefer,

The Subsoil is the difference for us this year. 2002 had 4 inches of dry topsoil where we have a foot of moist soil down an inch for those who didn't till. For those who disked stubble just one pass of tillage... big trouble to loose that extra inch of moisture this year. Crops are much better than I would have thought possible... with this little rain... cool covers a big void in rain... if it doesn't freeze.

[sumdumguy]

By the way, do we have a rainy season like other places?

[farmaholic]

June, and we're over half way through it. The rest of the season seems to be a bit of a lottery, lucky if your in the path of a thundershower, "without damaging winds and hail"!

Good luck everyone.

[hobbyfrmr]

Ha ha farmaholic. I was in a very similar situation as you describe in 1988.
My Dad and Uncle built a 26x40 shop on the farm that summer from repurposed wood.....and nails !
The only thing they physically paid for out of pocket was the concrete.
We had a new Case rotary combine, and i recall the pickup belt speed would not turn fast enough to get all the swath .