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Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n
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Higher-than-usual precipitation in southwest Saskatchewan is helping farmers recover from drought-like conditions over much of the last decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way things are starting now it is probably almost as good as it can be, just as far as rain and the timing of it,\u201d said Troy Weppler, who farms just north of Morse, Sask., about 170 kilometres west of Regina.<\/p>\n
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada reports the southwest has seen between 200 to 250 millimetres of rain since April 1. That\u2019s up from an average of 162 mm for this time of year, and way up from only 35.2 mm in May and June of 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve certainly gone through a significant drought in the last number of years,\u201d said Trevor Hadwen, an agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. \u201cMore years than not in the last decade or so. Right now, we’re seeing very good conditions compared relatively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hadwen said that in 2025 most of the southwest Saskatchewan region was under a severe drought, with some small pockets of extreme drought. He pointed to good rainfall in the fall, a decent snowpack in the winter and the recent rains as factors in the turnaround this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually have very little drought, if any, in the southwest corner at this point,\u201d Hadwen said.<\/p>\n
I haven\u2019t bought anything new in 10 years.- Troy Weppler<\/p>\n
Years of dry conditions took a toll both mentally and financially.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started farming on my own, you kind of took it for granted where we kept catching rains,\u201d Weppler said. \u201cJust when you needed one, to get an inch would be enough just to get everything through. When that stopped happening, then things kind of turned in a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weppler said he has been living with his eyes on the radar at all times in recent years and hasn\u2019t been able to reinvest in his operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat meant no new vehicles, no new equipment,\u201d he said. \u201cBringing up your repair bills \u2026 trying to keep your antique equipment running for another year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Low prices dim enthusiasm<\/p>\n
For Quinton Jacksteit, reeve of the RM of Big Stick, the increased precipitation masks other symptoms built up over years of drought.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re behind right now,\u201d Jacksteit said. \u201cWhen you’re looking at current grain prices, we’re not even getting $8 currently for your cereal crops. You can take a 40-bushel-acre crop and you’re hoping to get $300 an acre. That’s not going to help drastically if these prices stay the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Troy Weppler, far right, at his farm near Morse, Sask., standing with Earl Weppler and Paul Grajcyk. (Lacey Sellinger)<\/p>\n