My father started farming in the mid-1930s and continued until his retirement in 1980. He always told me that the two driest years of his time on the farm were 1936 and 1961. My brother now farms that same land and he has experienced 3 years that were even drier than 1936 and 1961. However during those drought years my brother produced crop yields that approached what would have been a good average yield for my father in a good moisture year.

That shows just how farming practices have changed in 30 years.

Interestingly, the only total crop failure that my father ever experienced (1950) was caused by excessive moisture. Torrential rains in August, September, and October of that year made his fields totally unworkable. Dad was not even able to swathe his grain that year.

My brother has now farmed that same land for almost 40 years and he has never experienced a crop failure. This year is looking like a real bumper crop for him, although he has yet to combine his canola.