District not as dry as 2006

FRANCES—While Rainy River District was faced with drought-like conditions after a lack of significant rainfall last year, data for this year shows the area received more rain than that this season.
“We’re not doing too bad here,” noted Kim Jo Bliss, technician at the Emo Agricultural Research Station, noting she’s recorded 465.25 mm of rainfall there from the beginning of April to now.
She added “normal” would be 500-600 mm, so it seems the rainfall is slightly below average.
“But I don’t know if there is ‘normal’ anymore,” Bliss remarked. “It is dry, but not it’s not nearly the way it was last year at this time.”
Bliss indicated there was a significant increase in rainfall this year compared to last, when just 279 mm of rain was recorded at the research station between April and the end of September.
Meanwhile, data provided by Agricorp also shows a boost in rainfall in the district since last year, although the figures are comparable to the rainfall recorded in 2005.
A rainfall station in Barwick recorded 317.60 mm of rain from May to August this year, but just 196 mm during the same months last year. In 2005, data indicates 317.25 mm of rain fell there.
In Devlin, 327.50 mm of rain was recorded from May to August this year, 166.40 mm last year, and 320.65 mm in 2005. And a station in Rainy River shows 307.525 mm of rainfall this season, 175.50 mm last year, and 340.125 mm in 2005.
But Trish Neilson, president of the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture, stressed the amount of rainfall—and the impact on farmers’ crops—varies throughout the district.
“I’ve heard varying reports on how pleased people are with their crops,” she noted. “From people saying they are lower than they were last year for crops to people saying they got 25-30 percent more in their crops.
“Once again, it’s isolated across the district.”
Neilson said the district seemed to receive adequate rainfall in May and June, but saw a deficit in July and August. And overall, she believes the area received about 90 percent of the rainfall it should get.
Bliss also discovered differences in reaction to this year’s rainfall by producers in the district.
“I know it’s almost controversial because I’m saying it’s not that bad, but in the west end of the district they are saying it’s terribly dry,” she remarked.
“The district is big, but you would think we’d be at least similar. But it’s not.”
Neilson said the boost in rainfall this year likely has helped most of the producers’ ponds recover, but she thinks there’s still a water problem.
“Our ponds have water in them, whereas last year at this time they were completely dry,” she noted, though adding she doesn’t know what the cause of the water problem is.
“To me, something hasn’t recovered based on how quickly the water is being soaked up into the ground,” Neilson said.
District producers have been seeking compensation from the federal government for their struggle with drought-like conditions last year, but have not been awarded any money yet.
Neilson isn’t sure whether they will see any movement on the issue, but noted the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program is being revamped to deal with these problems better.
“I don’t think that is going to help us in the past, but hopefully in the future things will be better,” she remarked.
(Fort Frances Times)