Farmers say southeast Sask. rain won’t dampen start of harvest

Heavy rain in southeast Saskatchewan isn’t a large concern for farmers approaching harvest.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for an area of the province that includes Carlyle, Estevan, and Moosomin.

The areas under the warning are expected to receive 50-70 millimetres of rain, stopping Friday night.

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Steve Donald, a farmer near Moosomin, said the rain has fluctuated between heavy downpour and a “slow, soaking drizzle.”

“The windshield wipers can’t keep up, but it comes and goes,” he said.

Donald said there are puddles in his yard, but there is no standing water in the fields.

About two per cent of harvest has been completed, according to the latest crop report, which is behind the five year average of five per cent completion.

Donald said the area was due for a good soak, as July saw weeks of temperature exceeding 30 degrees C.

“Even before this rain we got, there were producers around here I was talking to that actually had cracks in the ground that they could put their hand in,” he said.

Donald said his preference is a heavy rain a few weeks out of harvest because it keeps the grass green around the fields. That grass can help create a buffer zone around the field to prevent a machinery fire from expanding.

The crops growing in Donald’s fields rebounded “very well” after heavy rainfall in June.

“The cereal crops look very good,” he said. “The canola crops are very patchy because of flooded-out areas from the heavy rain we had. I’m very happy with what we have.”

Jake Leguee, a farmer near Fillmore, said his farm got less rain than expected. His operation was just outside of the rainfall warning, but Environment Canada said the area could still expect 10-20 mm.

“It is actually nice to see some rainfall, green the grass up a bit, and help the trees out,” he said. “It’ll help bring the later crops in too.”

Leguee was hoping to start combining lentils on Monday, which could still happen depending on how much sun his fields get over the weekend. He said his lentil crops are poor this year, because of the rain that flooded them out in June. He doesn’t want to see another heavy rainfall before the start of harvest.

“There’s a part of me that would have been happy to see a little bit more recharge, just because it has been so dry for quite some time,” he said. “But at the same time, this close to harvest, I really don’t want to see any major rainfall.

“Picking up lentils off the ground is difficult enough.”