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Post by Oatking on Jul 26, 2021 15:08:20 GMT -6
That is a tough 3 years. Too much rain you can at least tile drain the land or dig ditches, But you cant do much with no rain unless you have a pivot. How much does a pivot cost and how many dollars per acre of water do guys spend on ground water. In the red river valley almost all ground water is salty so doesnt make for a good water source.
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Post by prairieboy on Jul 26, 2021 21:41:19 GMT -6
I put in my first crop in 98 - the year I graduated high school. I have never farmed through a true drought till this year. That is 23 years! I have nothing to complain about. Certainly have fought a lot of cold and water in those years though.
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Post by victory on Jul 26, 2021 23:03:06 GMT -6
How bad can it get? I probably shouldn't post this, but someone once told me that it is never so bad that it can't get worse. I guess that means there is always something positive to consider. I'm definitely not trying to make light of people's tough situations. I admire those of us who continue to persevere through difficult times.
I think the driest year we had here was probably 2002.
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kens
New Member
Posts: 39 Likes: 17 
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Post by kens on Jul 27, 2021 0:16:49 GMT -6
| Year | April
| May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Total | | 1961 | 0 | 1.4 | 0.85 | 0.4 | 0.15 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 | | 1988 | 0 | 1.25 | 0.9 | 2.05 | 3.95 | 1.6 | 0 | 9.75 | | 2002 | 0.6 | 0 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 1 | 0 | 9.4 | | 2021 | 0 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0 | - | - | - | 3.4 | | Average | .54 | 1.68 | 2.94 | 2.83 | 2.12 | 1.67 | .61 | 12.2 |
This data is from a neighbour who lives 5 miles away and he has kept diligent rainfall records for our area since 1954. The 2021 year is from my weather station. 1961 we had 2.6" up to august, 88 4.2", and 2002 5". I know its all relative on how much moisture was in the soil profile going into the season and how much heat, but this year is looking like the second worst year we have had in the last 70. I am sure though that we consistently get more rain than he gets, even though we are only a few miles apart. I really have no idea what to expect for yields. Neighbour had his barley written off today, which was a surprise, I knew it was bad, but I didn't think it was that bad. Located near Lake Lenore. |
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Post by bob123 on Jul 28, 2021 12:24:08 GMT -6
Rm councilor said that without a big rain morden reservoir is set to run dry in about 30 days and that the red river isnt deep enough anymore to stay open for winter at morris
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Post by Oatking on Jul 28, 2021 16:59:10 GMT -6
Question for the cattle guys. I own some pasture land with good water. What are the actions i need to do to get a well drilled. How soon can you drink the water from a new well and what type of costs am i looking at, thanks
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Post by Beerwiser on Jul 28, 2021 17:11:55 GMT -6
That is quite the question Oatking. The driller will/should do most of the paperwork. Cost wise, 10k for 80' drilled well in mid 80's. Couldn't tell you the cost now. Can drink it right away, well as soon as the clorination is gone.
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Post by Albertabuck on Jul 28, 2021 18:54:06 GMT -6
I have no idea if the same applies, but currently in AB there is a program where for ag purposes the gov will kick in a third of the cost I believe it is.
Sometimes with those kind of programs there are restrictions on what they will contribute for, like some won't pay part of stainless screens ect, will only go for perforated casing with gravel pack. Check with your ag dept on things like that. The rest your local well driller should know, and can also give you an idea of what kind of water and how much and how deep roughly things are. Thats all gov records that are kept on every licensed well dug or drilled.
And any well driller dumped clorine down one of my wells I shoot the bastard on site lol. I have never seen that done myself on a new well even for potable use.
Thats usually something they do when there are bad iron bacteria issues. If the water is silty, leave it sit for a day or two and then pump it some for a couple days off and on, then you good to go.
Last well I was involved with, I had witched it for a neighbor, was getting nervous when they hit 130 with nothing, then at 172 bingo, never forgot the look the driller gave me along with the thumbs up, my reputation was still intact lol. That was around 16K, six inch plastic casing with screen. Be about 6-7 years ago.
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Post by Oatking on Jul 28, 2021 20:31:39 GMT -6
Interesting about the depths of the wells. This piece of land has natural springs so was wondering how that changes where or how deep they drill. Also the water psi pushing up from the ground measured 14psi. I have developed more respect for my pasture land over the years than for my grain land in the red river valley. Thankful for both but the water under my grain land in the valley is so salty it was actually test drilled for metals for batteries. Actually the company drilled a number of test wells but no further work has been done. Its amazing water is often taken for granted but it takes a severe drought for people to change that opinion and to grasp the true value of healthy clean drinking water.
The drought of the thirty seven and eighty eight is also different because all our communities have grown. A lot of towns are not set up for this like Morden, mb.
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Post by SWMan on Jul 28, 2021 22:16:22 GMT -6
Question for the cattle guys. I own some pasture land with good water. What are the actions i need to do to get a well drilled. How soon can you drink the water from a new well and what type of costs am i looking at, thanks Had a well drilled this spring, called driller and they came a few weeks later. I didn't do any paperwork and didn't apply for the government money available right now for wells. I think they registered the well because the casing has a tag on it. Cost $7661 for 6" with a section of screen on bottom and overall depth is about 100'. We are watering cows with it already. |
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Post by meskie on Jul 30, 2021 7:50:36 GMT -6
I find it interesting how deep some guys go for water. Our well at the barn is 30’ deep with 20’ of water in it right now. In the wet years it’s about 25-28’ of water. The well we use at my grandmas is 30’ deep and in the wet years it has water in the crib about ground level.
I guess I can thank my great grandpa for moving from Manitoba and picking a homestead with good water on it. He dug the first well by hand down 12 feet and had all the water he needed.
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Post by slashnburn on Jul 30, 2021 8:25:06 GMT -6
In the north Interlake its bad but not catastrophic yet. The rain last week saved the bean crops and probably some test weight on the cereals finishing up. Canola will be in the teens to mid 20s I figure. We had good soil moisture to start the year and snow in mid April. If we get a good shot of rain here in August the beans have a chance at a half decent crop.
The cattle guys are extra f*cked. Pastures are non existent and the hoppers are insane.
Big difference between no till and conventional tillage this year. 88 and 03 were worse because guys did spring tillage passes. Anyone who worked the ground this spring has a wreck.
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