The Storm sucked for moisture, had lots of wind, lets do a poll how dry are you?

[SASKFARMER]

I have a simple question since the media or any farm group doesn't seem concerned at all. Hell, it's April and we still have time for 2021.

Like Les Henry said the gas tank is empty it's not direct seeding that's saved you in 2020 it was a full groundwater table. Most of the prairies are dry and the storm pattern is the same. Big talk and no action like a Trudeau on a date.

March was just as bad as the earlier months with min snow. Actually two storms but most times the wind blew it away.

The last big rain we had was early July.

So here it is, How dry are you, and what's your sub-soil-like.

I'll start.

We are dry and our subsoil on most of the farm is ok but nothing to write home about. We have dug with the hoe down and the top foot is dry. Closer to town and valley worse.

We need a good soaking in April and early May to get the layers to meet.

But again the same weather pattern has not been nice so the chance of spring rain looks very unlikely. So is the drought-like the 30s on its way or 1961 or 1975 i think?

Simple question.


1. Dry
2. Dry but some subsoil moisture.
3. Dry with no reserve.
4. Ok.
5. Wet top but dry below. Timely rains.
6. So nice it not even funny we live in the land of milk and honey.

[SASKFARMER]

Or is this topic off the table. It's marketing. We can all have great prices but it sure would suck if no one actually could grow a crop and take advantage of the situation.

[jazz]

The original snow melted pretty fast and soaked in, but we have not had the big drying out after that I was expected. Couple skiffs of wet snow, few showers and overcast days hasnt made it any worse yet. I think we might be at a 3.5.

[Sheepwheat]

Not dry. About right. We have had many little two and three inch unforecasted snows in the last ten days.

Runoff started yesterday. Looks like a third of normal. Dugouts full.

We have been so cold. Example Sunday it was plus six here and eighteen everywhere else. That gets old. We drove south an hour on Sunday and ten miles from home it was ten. Temp kept climbing with every mile. But it preserves moisture. A very normal spring for here. Very, very slow melt.

When it’s worriesome elsewhere, it is ideal here in my little pocket.

Yesterday’s storm, for all the hype, sure turned into much ado about nothing. Sort of windy for a bit, a few more inches of snow. No big deal like they professed.

[bucket]

1. Dry without enough moisture to germinate a crop.

[SASKFARMER]

Anyone on here wants a good read or interview listen to Les Henry a soil science prof from the UorS and he actually farmed also it was so enjoyable to listen to and he hit it out of the park.

Most farmers don't know what drought is and when the tanks empty it's empty. Spring rains don't help unless the two areas meet.

[DaneG]

DRY! .

[SASKFARMER]

Latest map for March!

This same pattern has been in place since July of last year.

Yea we’re yellow but it’s dry under ground in most of the yellow.

[fjlip]

Snow less than half normal, was soaking away but Colder than everywhere else. Subsoil dry in our pocket, more moisture 5 miles N. Was dry last spring too, till June rain saved us. Adequate rains till HOT August stopped crop dead. Will be repeat, rain will be critical.

[ajl]

We are likely close to a 6 as you would likely see around here. After the flooding of the past number of years most in this area are happy to see the early spring and are figuring on at least an average if not better crop. Yesterday's storm did not contribute much to moisture as the wind blew so hard but we were not looking for that much anyways. I have been touring around the backroads and figure that this area will seed over 10% more acres this spring than last due to a combination of land too wet to seed last year and the amount of hay and pasture that has been worked up. If this is the case throughout NW Alberta and I suspect that it is there will be another million acres in annual crop production in Alberta alone.

[RD414]

Biggar Rosetown area is dry. Dry on top, dry farther down. Quit raining here first week of July and less than a foot of snow. Yesterday’s storm only couple inches snow. We are starting this trip with the tank on empty.

[SASKFARMER]

I find it's a topic farmers don't want to talk about. Most haven't told their sons what happened in the 80s. I remember my dad telling me about 1961. We only had a crop where he seeded sloughs. Hay was so tough to find you cut everything you could find. You know some areas had only crops where the water ran in spring. When I say crops I mean some growth the rest of the field was black. Friends seeded and that was it went to the lake. No fungicides no fert no nothing just 1 bus or less and wait. The rain never came.

Drought is rough and not fun like to wet. It sucks the life out of a farm and Ag Stab 2 won't do shit all.