Ruth and Al Trudeau shown with some of their jams and jellies for sale during the farmers' market in North Battleford Friday. They grow various fruits and vegetables in the Battlefords area. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Fighting through the rain

Battlefords area farmers hoping for a little less rain for prime crop production

Jul 19, 2020 | 4:36 PM

Battlefords area farmers are hoping for a little more dry weather for a while after dealing with some heavy precipitation from the recent rainstorms.

Producer Ruth Trudeau farms on just under 70 acres in the Battle River area.

She grows various fruits and vegetables, including potatoes, carrots, peas, cucumbers, beets, and corn.

“It would be nice to have it stop raining for at least a week or two,” Trudeau said with a laugh. “We’re getting way too much.”

She said otherwise the crop is “growing wonderful right now,” adding in another week she will have lots of product to sell.

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Trudeau believes the recent heavy rain actually helped her crop a bit, noting that nothing was lost.

“Our vegetables are growing quite well,” she said. “We’re hoping as long as the weather keeps going the way it is, it is going to be perfect.”

According to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture’s latest report, the majority of crops in Saskatchewan are in fair to excellent condition.

Areas near Neilburg, northwest of Cut Knife, received the highest amount of rainfall for the week ending July 13 at 116 millimetres, while the St. Walburg area received the most rainfall since April 1 at 376 millimetres in total.

Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture regional crops specialist John Ippolito said for most of the North West region, focusing on the Battlefords and surrounding area, crops are in very good condition.

“We’re pretty much on normal for development. Rainfall has been abundant and timely,” he said.

He said while some areas received heavy rainfall saturating the soil, it does not necessarily mean any crop will be lost at this stage in production.

“There will be an opportunity for that to dry up,” he said. “The crop won’t have died yet because of surplus moisture.”

Ippolito said in many areas of the region producers are now hoping to see “some wind and sunshine” ahead.

He noted many growers in the region applied fungicides over the last week or so, to prevent crop disease due to the high humidity and rainfall.

Some pea crops are suffering from the high rains and flooding, he said, and probably will not be up to their full potential at this point in production.

Ippolito said producers are growing a range of crops in the area this year.

For a large part of the North-West region, canola is likely the dominant oilseed crop being produced, followed by wheat and barley mainly, and then pulse crops such as peas and faba beans.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW