As you read this, there's a good chance that it's raining or that it has just rained or that it's about to rain.
That's just the kind of spring it's been in Saskatchewan. Most years, this would good news. Too much spring rain is not a common problem in the area that John Palliser first described in 1863 as unsuitable for agriculture.
Some 147 years later, few would have thought that this place would not be unsuitable for agriculture because its spring was too wet to plant.
Admittedly, the most area affected isn't in the infamous Palliser Triangle - the corner of southeast Alberta and virtually all of southwest Saskatchewan. However, this part of our province most susceptible to drought might be about the only area of the province with the right level of moisture this year.
More than half of the province has had a surplus of topsoil moisture this year, but that massively understates the problem. This spring has been so wet that only about 70 per cent of the crop has been planted leaving something close to 10 million acres of Saskatchewan's cropland unseeded. And of the 70 per cent that has been seeded, we now may see thousands of flooded acres, leaving farmers on the hook for this year's input costs.
The good news is that Saskatchewan Crop Insurance has the capacity to address part of the problem as a result of surpluses accumulated in solid crop years of 2007, 2008 and even 2009.
The bad news is the magnitude of the problem and the realistic concern that it might get worse. Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud roughly estimated that crop insurance would be paying out $300- to $400 million this year - compared with only $122 million paid out last year. Much of that payout would come as a result of the $50-an-acre benefit for unseeded acres.
But the reality is no one can get a handle on the final costs. With the crop insurance seeding deadline extended to June 20, late seeding may produce a lot of claims in the fall if we have a cool growing season like last year and an average or early frost. And then there is the question of what to do about farmers who have already spent $100-an-acre-plus on input costs and find their land under water because of more rain.
This is where the federal government must step in to help.
The Conservative administration in Ottawa hasn't exactly lavished a lot of attention on Western agriculture. Conservative MPs are confident that their rural vote won't abandon them. Now, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and his government need to step up.
The good news is that Ritz is saying the right things. "Anything is possible," Ritz told the StarPhoenix's James Wood last Tuesday. "This is government."
Ritz went on to say his government would "look at anything" and farmers could also seek cash advances under the AgriStability program. "When we start talking about a major disaster, we can move on into AgriRecovery," Ritz said, adding that it's even possible that governments could look "outside of that toolbox" for additional help if it is needed.
After a conversation with Ritz last Tuesday, Bjornerud was even more optimistic of a joint federal-provincial program. Saskatchewan's agriculture minister said he was especially pleased that Ritz had been asking for specifics on the number of acres that will be affected and any suggestions from the province that could provide a solution.
That's a positive sign because there's no question that the feds need to step up.
We may have led the world in dryland farming techniques, but this spring's wetness is like nothing we've ever seen.
Federal Conservatives that have taken their rural Saskatchewan support for granted need to recognize how unique this spring situation is.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 15 years.
