Lack of rainfall presents uncertain outlook for farmers in Alberta

Severely dry conditions persist across several regions in Alberta as farmers continue to hope for summer showers that could provide some much-needed respite from the heat.

"We're really in a difficult position here," said independent crop advisor Steve Larocque in an interview on The Homestretch.

"We're right on the edge where crops were looking OK last week, but they're already starting to show a lot of signs of stress just in the last four days."

Larocque is the owner of Beyond Agronomy, a company based in Three Hills, Alta., and provides advice to farmers residing in areas north and east of Calgary.

Every spring has its share of surprises in store, he said, but this season is turning out to be trickier than expected.

"We are a month past seeding and … the crops, in general, won't have enough moisture to make maturity [if the dry conditions continue]," Larocque said.

The crop advisor is also concerned about livestock and reckons things could take a turn for the worse.

"The livestock guys are even worse off right now because there isn't any grass and there's potentially no feed," he said. 

According to a moisture situation report that was published by the Alberta government on May 29, specific areas that didn't witness any rainfall "may be experiencing early signs of moisture stress." 

The report further stated that "soil moisture reserves are extremely low" in many places across Alberta and "timely rains are more important now than ever."

Larocque echoed this sentiment and said he's working with his clients on possible solutions. He added the situation is "really unique" and it's something he hasn't seen often in the past.

"I've been doing this for 25 years and I dare say if I've ever written off a crop on June 7th or three weeks, you know, effectively two weeks past planting or at most, a month past planting," he said. 

LISTEN | Steve Larocque talks about Alberta's soil conditions:

But what do dry crops look like? According to Larocque, signs to watch out for include a change in colour — green leaves that seem yellowish, for instance, and leaves that are starting to drop. 

Things are fairly unpredictable right now, according to Ralph Wright, who manages the agro-meteorology applications and modelling unit with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation.

"For producers right now, it's very much a wait-and-see game," he said, adding that fall is still far away and it's still early in the season to be sure of anything.

Wright is hopeful that it may rain in the following months but thinks that farmers' concerns are valid.

"How long the crops can withstand, you know, no rain and warmer temperatures, I don't know," he said. "It's going to be very dependent on the crop and when it was seeded and what condition it's in now." 

'We try to maintain residue cover everywhere'

Everything's not lost, though. According to Larocque, farmers can try different strategies such as adopting conservation techniques, preserving soil residue, experimenting with crop rotations and more. 

"Had this been 20 years ago, 30 years ago, I don't think we'd be staring at a crop right now," he said.

"We try to maintain residue cover everywhere, which acts like a blanket. So when we do get rain, it holds it and holds the moisture."