Southeast Sask. farmer desperate for rain in early stages of seeding season

Many farmers across Saskatchewan need rain.

In the latest crop report, the province reported that 58 per cent of farmers don’t have enough moisture in the early days of seeding season.

Winston van Staveren farms durham wheat, canola, soy beans and lentils close to Creelman, about 55 kilometres northeast of Weyburn.

He, like many others, is in desperate need of rain.

“It’s kind of scary right now looking at the forecast because there isn’t much moisture predicted,” he said. “Hopefully they’re wrong, like they sometimes are.”

It has been a dry spring so far and in van Staveren’s area, winter didn’t help build up much subsoil moisture.

“Last year, we didn’t get much snow. In 2019, we had a lot of rain in the fall so we had a lot of moisture heading into the growing season, but this year we don’t have that. We have quite dry soil,” he continued.

The seeds they have planted so far have germinated, but that’s no guarantee of success.

“With no more moisture in the future, it might be hard for them to produce something,” van Staveren explained.

On top of the dry soil making it tough for crops to grow, it also brings the issue of pests.

“This year could be a bad year for grasshoppers. They like dry, warm conditions and last fall we had a bit of that too, so they maybe had good time to lay their eggs,” van Staveren pointed out.

Overall, there are many factors he’s keeping an eye on to see if his farm will be able to turn a profit this year.

For one, crop prices are higher than average, but so are some input costs like fuel.

Still, a good dump of rain would play a major part in making this a good year.

“Mother Nature is always in control. God is always in control,” van Staveren said. “In this province, moisture is always the limiting factor on yields. It’s always something we have to contend with.

“We (have) to pray a lot, I guess.”