Recent rain perfect for crops according to farmers, despite low lake levels

With water levels in Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba below normal, there is a fear of draught conditions heading into the summer, but a local farm says it’s not as bad as many think with recent rainfall making conditions perfect for growing crops.

Just a few weeks ago, many farmers including Stefan Regnier who owns Blue Lagoon Organics farm, which produces a variety of food and practices farming in a way that is sustainable for the environment, would say they thought a severe draught was a huge possibility this season, but Regnier says recent rainfall of over 120 millimeters has made conditions perfect.

“We found in a summer like 2022 when it didn’t rain at all, we would hold out watering every day which is pretty much needed without rain it will last about two months, so usually gets you to late August, which for the most part the crops have taken what they need, so I fell good going into the season,” explained Regnier.

According to Manitoba Hydro water levels reached a low of about 217mm in early April, but have since increased by 20cm, but Regnier says water levels don’t affect them at all, since they do not rely on the lakes and rivers and instead use irrigation ponds, which rely on snow from the winter.

“We pump water out of the pounds it goes into a flat tape that has drip emitters every foot and we do it on the row crops and just water the plants themselves,” said Regnier.

Regnier says since the recent rainfall the ponds are currently full, making them very hopeful for a successful crop. While the Canadian Drought Monitor does show drought conditions in Manitoba, Environment Canada Meteorologist Brain Proctor says recent storms have flipped the script in May, with another storm on the way over the weekend, saying as long as we keep getting rain, drought conditions will improve

“We really need those thunderstorms, we need that activity it helps from an agricultural point of view, it helps from a water availability point of view heading forward,” said Brian Proctor, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.