Saskatchewan farmers look back on not-so-snowy winter

After an anything-but-normal winter, Saskatchewan farmers are beginning to look at what comes next.

The latest runoff report from the Water Security Agency says some parts of the province are expected to experience runoff that’s below or well-below normal this spring.

Areas of the province that may be a little luckier are the Saskatoon area and west towards Biggar, as well as in the eastern portions of the grain belt along the Manitoba border. Those regions are expected to see a near-normal runoff.

Ian Boxall, the president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), said the recent snowfall has done some good.

“I think it’s been a little bit of a stressful winter with the lack of snow, but I think it was a welcomed snow event across most of the province,” Boxall said of the storm that hit the province last weekend.

“I think it alleviates some of the stress, but I don’t think it’s all gone. I think we still require more runoff to get dugouts and bodies of water full for domestic use and for cattle.”

Farmers across the province dealt with drought-like conditions last summer, with some rural municipalities declaring states of emergency due to a lack of moisture.

Boxall says the snow helps through the winter, but it’s not everything.

“Yes, some of it goes into the ground, but honestly, a lot of it just runs off,” he said. “We are a lot better off with an April rain than we are with a whole bunch of snow, but we do need snow for runoff.”

The spring runoff is dependent on fall soil moisture, snowpack water content, and how quickly the snowpack melts.

According to the WSA’s report, most of the major water supply reservoirs in the southern part of the province are at or above normal levels. However, reservoirs such as Avonlea and some in the southwest may experience surface water supply concerns.

Boxall said that even with the seemingly rough conditions farmers deal with, they remain hopeful.

“I think with the last couple years and the droughts we’ve had, there’s some hesitancy about being super-optimistic,” he said. “But if we weren’t optimistic, we wouldn’t do what we’re doing, so I think we’ll go into spring and we’ll have the moisture we need to get it started, and hopefully we’ll get some timely rains.”