Fishing anyone? Except this isn't a lake, it's a seeded field in the Canora district.
While we've been moaning about the wet spring in the Northwest, the moisture we've received has at least not been this excessive. In fact, there was serious concern about dry conditions this spring. Battleford Fire Chief Larry Gabruch said conditions were the driest he'd ever seen after the Battleford Volunteer Fire Department battled a huge prairie fire south of town in early April.
We're no longer facing drought, and pine for a few warm, sunny days to get things growing, but as the photo above indicates, some areas of the province will need more than a few days. And the tap in those regions was still cranked wide open late this week, with Environment Canada issuing heavy rainfall warnings.
Battlefords MP and Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz landed in Wishart Wednesday to take a first hand look at what farmers in the area are faced with. A government release indicates Ritz is confident crop insurance and Agri-Stability programs will be adequate to compensate farmers for their losses.
Government ministers always have far more confidence in their programs than producers, and we'll be hearing more about their plight in the weeks to come.
Here in the Northwest, we will count our blessings . . . and the mosquitoes, but that's a topic for another day.
