MOOSE JAW — Heavy spring rains developed amazing crop stands but low or no rainfall in the critical month of July has cut crop yields.
The question is just how dry was July?
It was dry, real dry.
Rainfall records for 15 rural municipalities within the Moose Jaw trading area from Saskatchewan Agriculture show how dry the weather turned.
In the three-week period from July 16 to Aug. 5, seven of those RMs received no rain at all, except for an odd isolated shower.
RMs not getting any rain in that period were Sarnia at Central Butte, Redburn at Rouleau, Huron at Tugaske, Marquis, Terrell at Spring Valley and Wood River at Lafleche.
Several RMs received nice rains in the two weeks from June 25 to July 9.
Wood River had 86 millimetres (over three inches) with 61mm (two inches) at Sarnia, 35 mm at Caron (1.5 inches) 51 mm at Elmsthorpe, Avonlea (two inches) and 29 mm at Moose Jaw (1.2 inches).
Given all the rain before the three-week dry spell, crops had shallow roots and were unable to benefit from deeper water reserves, if they existed.
Nine of the 15 RMs have had more than 200 mm (eight inches) of rain since April 1 — Elmsthorpe, Stonehenge at Assiniboia, Lake Johnstone at Mossbank, Dufferin at Bethune, Marquis, Caron, Eyebrow, Terrell and Sarnia,
The least rainfall since April 1 was 141 mm (5.5 inches) at Redburn.
Moose Jaw RM had 195 mm, close to eight inches. Moose Jaw averages 236 mm (9.3 inches) of rain in a year.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
