Davidson area farmer expects crops to recover after severe storm

Friday’s storm west of Davidson caused some trouble for Brett Siroski, of Siroski Simmentals.

His farm, about seven kilometres west of the town, was hit by rain and hail, and the area was placed under a tornado warning from Environment Canada.

Siroski said the storm caused flooding and damaged many of their crops, like wheat, canola and lentils.

“It came in fairly slow and just never, ever left,” Siroski said on Wednesday.

“We got like seven inches of rain and a bunch of hail, and basically flooded most of that stuff out.”

Siroski said the lentils and wheat took the brunt of the damage, but five days after the storm he said it seems like the fields are doing much better and are going to bounce back.

He said that the hailstones that fell were the size of quarters, and it was almost a foot-deep in some areas on the farm. But despite the large hail and howling winds, Siroski said the storm didn’t cause any structural damage.

Siroski said his cattle were further west and far away from the hail.

Despite the storm, Siroski said he’s grateful for the large amount of rain Saskatchewan has received this year, after farmers struggled with drought in 2023.

“We’ve got lots. Like we went from five years of nothing to like, almost too much now, and they’re calling for another two or three inches again,” he said.

Overall, he said the weather has been alright this year, but some crops have been slower growing due to cooler temperatures.

Dave Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, has said that the heat is expected to pick up in July and August.

Some gardeners in Regina have also found that the cooler temperatures have slowed down the growth of their produce.

The wet weather has also affected sporting events, with Saskatoon Minor Baseball saying that 30 per cent of its games have been cancelled or postponed thanks to the wet weather.

Regina Minor Baseball also said it has had to cancel 83 games across eight days as of last Thursday.