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Soil Moisture Still Poor to Excess
Unseasonably cool and dry conditions prevailed across the prairies last week. Spotty rainshowers and a few snow flurries meant additional moisture was received but these events were quite localized.
As a result, soil moisture conditions continue to range from poor to excess. In Manitoba, much of the Red River Valley (approximately 96,000 acres) still remains submerged under the swollen Red River, although water levels have receded 7 feet from the peak. The rest of agroManitoba has good to adequate moisture. In Saskatchewan, soil moisture conditions range from dry to adequate. In southern Saskatchewan, it continues to be dry north of #1 highway and west of Gravelbourg. Seeding is continuing in these areas but germination will likely not occur until precipitation is received. Soil moisture conditions are extremely dry in the Major and Kerrobert areas where soil moisture probes will only reach a two-inch depth in some fields. Conditions also continue to be dry in the thin-black soil zone around Unity, Marshall and Cutknife where soil moisture probes reveal less than a foot of moist soil. Canola seeding is progressing and seeds may germinate but will require additional precipitation shortly. Some producers believe it is too dry to seed canola and are waiting for conditions to improve. In eastern Alberta, the dry pocket around the Coronation, Consort, Sedgewick areas still exists. Seeding is continuing in this area but slowly as producers wait for conditions to improve. Across the remainder of Alberta there is growing concern about the rapidly depleting soil moisture. Seeding operations are continuing but additional precipitation is needed very soon.
The latest crop report from Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food & Rural Revitalization is available at:
http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/crprpt090430
The latest crop report from Alberta Agriculture & Food is available at:
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/sdd4191
Maps of current moisture conditions in western Canada from PFRA are available at:
http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/prpay09_e.htm
http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/drought/prpgs09_e.htm
Additional moisture information for Alberta is available from Alberta Environment at:
http://www.environment.alberta.ca/forecasting/data/precipmaps/weekly.pdf
http://www.environment.alberta.ca/forecasting/data/precipmaps/monthly.pdf