Well-below average precipitation to start 2018 continues

 

Most farmers across the province, especially in the southwest are hoping for a lot more precipitation sometime soon.

 

Through the first five months of 2018, the weather station in Swift Current has only recorded 60 millimetres of precipitation only half of the 133-year station data's average.

 

John Paul Cragg, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said that although 2015's first five months were the driest with 44 mm, this year's start isn't far behind.

 

"That put's Swift Current at the tenth driest five-month period from January through to May in its history," he said. "Just a little bit more precipitation than the driest first five months back in 2015."

 

The dry weather trend in the southwest has now continued for over a year and a half starting in November of 2016, a trend that Cragg said is very puzzling.

 

"Swift Current and the southwest corner and the whole of Saskatchewan has seen a lot of fluctuation in terms of precipitation they get from one year to the next, from one decade to the next, from one month to the next over its history," he said. "There's a lot of variation in precipitation.

 

"The atmospheric pattern has been one where low-pressure systems have not passed over the area as much as they usually do. But that doesn't give a very good reason why that's occurring. That's is something that a climatologist would have to go back and look at and look at the atmospheric pattern and see what's happening and why the patterns are set up in such a way that those low-pressure systems just aren't bring that moisture over southwestern Saskatchewan."

 

Video: Independent Seed, National Impact | On The Brink: Episode 9

A survey of 200 independent seed businesses reveals what Canada's seed sector actually contributes — and what it stands to lose.

On the Brink, Justin Funk, a third-generation agri-marketer, shares the findings of a national survey conducted in early 2026. The numbers reframe the conversation: independent seed companies in Canada represent upwards of $1.7 billion in dedicated seed infrastructure, approximately 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs in rural communities, and an estimated $20 million in annual community contributions. And roughly 90% of Canada's cereals, pulses, and other small pollinated crops flow through them.

The survey also asked how dependent these businesses are on public plant breeding to survive. The answer was unambiguous. For policymakers evaluating the future of publicly funded breeding programs, Funk argues the economic case for this sector and the case for public plant breeding are the same argument.

On the Brink is a cross-country video series exploring the future of plant breeding in Canada. Each episode features voices from across the industry in an open, ongoing conversation about innovation and long-term investment in Canadian agriculture.