For the week of August 4th – 10th
We got rain!
This was probably the most anticipated weather event of the year. For the last 10 days some forecasts were calling for a major storm to come across Saskatchewan- with the amount and location seemingly each day as we approached. Then it got pushed back again and again.
Finally it hit – we ended up with between 30-50mm across the farm on Friday and Saturday. Fortunately it wasn’t a heavy rain that came all at once – so there was minimal additional crop that got lodged. This was almost the perfect amount of moisture – any water that is standing will soak in or evaporate within a few days. Not too far away there was 125mm+ of rain – lots of water standing and crop lodged. Definitely grateful we were spared the brunt of the storm!
This next week looks to be cool once again and chances of rain increasing again by the weekend. With the rain we just got, we are good for moisture for the 2025 crop season. What we need right now is hot and dry weather – the past 40 days have trended well below average for daytime highs and overnight lows. At the end of June we were well ahead of normal for crop maturity — which was due to earlier planting dates and the hot and dry weather we experienced early on.
When will harvest start? We have some early planted 6-row barley, which is an earlier maturing variety – that is getting close. Depending on the weather it could be end of this week to early next week. The remainder of the crop has a long way to go – we are getting to the point where the plants will genetically start to shut down and maturing – some sun and heat will be welcome to push that along!
The old saying for harvest in Saskatchewan – one day of harvest in August is equivalent to two days in September, which is equivalent to three days in November…
