Mixed blessings for Sask. farmers with drought and heavy rain

It’ll be quite the rainy week on the Prairies.

Environment Canada says that there are multiple storm systems moving in from the southwest that are bringing rain and hail to much of the province. Those storms aren’t expected to let up until Thursday.

While that might be upsetting news for some, for others, it’s a dream come true.

The southwest corner of Saskatchewan has had to deal with recent droughts, and they’ll be the ones who get hit the hardest by the coming storms, expected to dump 50 to 100 mm (2 to 4 inches) of rain.

Jeremy Welter is a director at APAS and a farmer in the Kerrobert area and says that the sudden moisture could bring some benefits.

“It’ll definitely be beneficial for next year … what it would be is a good start. They’ve really been behind on moisture like most of the province for a long time. We’re behind in moisture in our area but not anything to the extent that they are,” said Welter.

“This is the kind of thing where, if it comes at the right time, it’s a lifesaver. As it stands right now, it’s probably a good start to recharge some of that subsoil moisture,” he said.

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Welter said that while the rainfall could be a great thing, it also has the possibility of causing some real damage.

“Because it’s been so dry for so long and the ground is now essentially barren in some places, one of the definite concerns is erosion. In that area, erosion usually happens through wind. But if four inches of rain … does fall in a short period of time, it’s going to wash a lot of that topsoil away, and topsoil is something that takes 100 years to reform. It’s not a problem you’ll be able to solve overnight,” said Welter.

Kevin Krchov, who farms 30 km south of Biggar, said that harvest has already stopped for the past six days due to the rain.

“It’s what it is, you can’t do anything about it,” he said.

Krchov said the heavy rains coming through will probably keep him out of the field for another week. He said the most he can do is fix machinery and go out for Chinese food in Biggar while he waits.

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