Alberta farmers are facing the worst moisture conditions in at least 50 years, according to the provincial government’s latest moisture situation update..Grasshoppers, cutworms and flea beetles are also adding to the early season woes, according to the latest crop report released on June 9..Soil moisture reserves across a wide swath of the province, extending from Peace River and Cold Lake in the north down to Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, have been nearly depleted following a dry fall and spring that have in turn led to the worst wildfire season in Alberta’s history.. Alberta droughtAbout 75% of Alberta has received little to no rain since April. .Roughly 75% of the productive growing areas in Alberta are under moderate to severe drought. Crops are just being planted — according to Alberta Ag about 98% of seeding is essentially complete — but rain is needed now, it said..It gets especially bad south of Red Deer and on past Calgary. .May and June are typically the wettest months of the summer, according to Alberta Ag..Stephen Vandervalk, the vice-president of the Wheat Growers Association who also farms near Claresholm, said the situation is unprecedented. His farm is 100 years old and he’s never seen anything similar in 25 years of running the family farm..“Last week was the first measurable rain since mid-April,” he said. “My dad, who is 80 has never seen anything like it either.”.Ironically, the very southern part of Alberta looks fine, receiving roughly 20-40 mm of rain in the past week..“It’s still relatively early in the season, but suffice it to say south of the Yellowhead highway and through parts of the Northern Peace Region, rain is needed now,” the report said..Extremely low moisture reserves mean the success of crops will rely on timely, regular rains or risk severe losses. .According to Jim Beusekom, at Marketplace Commodities in Lethbridge, cow/calf feed supply is an even bigger concern, with large amounts of drought-affected lands overlapping with cow/calf operations. . Canada droughtMost of Western Canada and Maritimes are under moderate to severe drought. .Although he doesn’t trade hay, he noted farmers would normally be making hay this time of year and if they’re forced to buy feed it could have a negative impact on profitability. .“A lot of our forage production is in May and June and it’s simply been too dry for a grass or hay crop,” he said in an interview. “There just isn’t that much cow feed out there.”.As for grain crops, he said it’s still early. Seeding wrapped up at the beginning of the month and there’s still time to save the crop in most of the province..“It’s not critical yet,” he said. “But it’s very concerning with the fires and all that negative news over the past few months. If the drought intensifies it becomes much more of a concern.”.According to the Alberta Agriculture web site, multi-year droughts have cumulative impacts on the environment, economy and society as a whole. In the past 120 years, there have been at least five major droughts on the prairies, starting with the Great Dust Bowl in 1929 along with multi-year episodes in the 1980s and 2000s..In the worst case, the province could declare an emergency under the Water Act, which would allow the government to prioritize or even restrict water licences. Although agriculture definitely comes to mind, oil production would also be affected under a worst case scenario..Municipalities also play a large role in water management during drought as they are responsible for water supply and distribution to communities. They’re the ones who develop community-wide water shortage response plans, which may include voluntary or mandatory water restrictions. .Municipalities also declare agricultural disasters when crops are impacted by drought, the government said.
