Cyclical droughts don’t derail

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Thread still on top all good.
2019 267 mm rain 220 mm in GS
2020 341mm smack on average 285mm GS

19 best ever barley on less rain. 20 below average barley.

19 wheat canola below average 20 above average

Legumes 19 shizenhausen 20 record.

Weird barley performed well in 19 on stuff all rain but poor this year

Nothing unusual about that "here". Barley is an absolute wimp when it rains. One 2 inch rain event is a disaster for barley on our ground.

One thing to keep in mind when you see maps or read stats about what percentage of the prairies is in drought. It is typically the drier southern/central areas that are affected. But the highest yields per acre are outside of the palliser triangle. So if half the prairies are in drought, but it is mostly inside the Palliser triangle, the net effect isn't as big as it sounds.

Really dry years here are really stressful, but truthfully, they always seem to turn out way better than expected. Really wet years, the opposite is true. Not true for pasture and hayland.

As for cyclical, my unscientific observation is that major weather patterns seem to last for 3 years. 3 dry summers, 3 wet Junes, 3 mild winters, 3 winters with heavy snow, 3 early winters etc. But these patterns within the different seasons may overlap. Probably wouldn't stand up to statistical scrutiny though.

Dry years here: 1988, 2001, 2002 very very bad, 2003 even worse, 2009( perfect), 2015,2016,2017,2018 all had long dry periods. I've already dispelled my three year observation...