Snow brings relief to southern Prairies

Farmers and ranchers across the southern Prairies woke Oct. 23 to a heavy blanket of snow covering their land, the first white stuff of the year.

It was laden with much-needed moisture that was greedily absorbed by parched soil.

“It was very welcome. We are still really in the grips of a historically dry situation, so we are willing to take any moisture that comes in any form possible,” said Tara Davidson, who ranches near Ponteix in southwestern Saskatchewan.

“There’s definitely some mud around to drive into now,” said Dwane Morvik, who ranches further southwest near Eastend.

“We had about an inch (of) rain before it snowed, which was welcome because it hadn’t really rained here since July,” said the cow-calf producer.