A farmer in the Randolph area says they are very happy with the rain that fell Sunday.
Kevin Peters of Herbsigwil Farms says they are growing crops around Randolph and then also in the Zhoda/ Marchand region. This year they seeded fall rye, spring wheat, canola, soybeans, corn, and sunflowers.
Peters says prior to Sunday's rain, most of their crops were looking quite good. However, he notes they were starting to show some signs of stress from a lack of moisture.
"But nothing dire," he says. "There's much worse areas and pockets in the province than we were for sure."
Peters says the dry weather may result in a bit of yield holdback, but it should not be very detrimental.
According to Peters, Sunday's low-pressure system dumped about half an inch of rain on their crops around Randolph. He notes they had slightly more on their fields near Zhoda and Marchand. In fact, he says one of their stations west of Zhoda registered nearly an inch and a quarter of rain.
"There is a range of rain, depending on the area, and I guess the severity of the storm that passed over," he says. "But yeah, we're very happy with the rain that fell (Sunday)."
Meanwhile, over the last few days, many canola fields in the southeast have started to flower. Peters says that is on fields that were planted in early May, noting those producers will be very happy with this week's forecast.
"A cooler week ahead of us, which really improves the canola flowering," he explains. "Canola loves that mild/cool daytime high for flowering and for seed production."
As for corn, there is the old saying, 'knee-high by the first of July.' Farmers have long used that as a measuring stick to determine how their corn crops are faring in summer. If your corn stalks are at least knee-high by July 1st, they are said to be off to a great start. Peters says some of their corn fields were already knee-high last week, and so that crop is in good shape.
"One of our best corn fields is sitting on a field we didn't even get seeded last year," he says. "It's been a pretty good year so far."
Peters says a rain event like Sunday, once a week, would be well received, especially as the crops really start to grow and develop. He notes it is a little difficult to say what the ideal forecast would be right now because they grow a variety of crops. For example, Peters says canola during the flowering stage likes temperatures in the low 20's, while corn right now would like 30-degree temperatures and humid. In a perfect world for his farm, he says temperatures in the mid-20s would probably be ideal.
He adds it is still a little early for disease pressures to start showing.