Snowfall Provides Some Optimism

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A spring blizzard affected southern Manitoba and parts of southern Saskatchewan with heavy snow and strong winds last week.

According to Environment Canada, overall, parts of Southeastern Saskatchewan were expected to see up to 50 centimeters of snowfall. Some areas of Manitoba were expected to receive up to 80 centimeters. With snow expected to have fallen until Saturday evening, the southwest is expected to receive 10-20 centimeters of snow.

Matthew Struthers, Saskatchewan Agriculture’s Crops Extension Specialist, discusses Saskatchewan’s current moisture situation based on this winter’s overall snowfall.

“Looking at this winter, there was a lot of snow that fell in the northern half of the province, which is really good to see, and is more typical with what we usually see. Last year we didn’t have that, so it’s nice to see that happen. However, there was very little snow in some parts of the southwest.”

As parts of southwestern Saskatchewan did not receive as much snowfall as other parts of the province, especially the northern regions, the agriculture sector ZLOO QHHG VLJQL¿FDQW UDLQIDOO WKLV VSULQJ

Since April is still very early, soil moisture levels have not yet been reported for the province. Struthers noted, however, that there is a great deal more runoff LQ PRVW DUHDV WKLV \HDU WKDQ ODVW \HDU UHÀHFWHG E\ PDQ\ full dugouts. He also added that If the temperature stays consistent and doesn’t warm up too quickly this spring, the dugout water should last for a while, which is a very positive sign.

Most producers welcomed the snow last week, as it will add some moisture before seeding. Cattle producers, however, are certainly affected by harsh spring events during calving season, which makes an already FKDOOHQJLQJ WDVN DOO WKH PRUH GLI¿FXOW

Struthers also pressed the importance of being cautious around seeding too early. He explained that some producers started seeding quite early last year, which proved to be challenging for some who had to reseed due to some late spring storms.

“It’s important to be conservative this year. I hope there aren’t too many acres being seeded early, since we don’t know what the weather will look like in the next few weeks. My recommendation would be to hold off a little bit.”