Extremely dry spring leaves southern Albertan farmers on the road to ‘zero production’

With little to no precipitation since mid April in areas south of Calgary,  some farmers are already predicting crop losses.

Crops in southern Alberta that should be green are turning brown. With little to no measurable precipitation since mid-April in areas south of Calgary,  some farmers are already predicting crop losses.

According to the June 6 Agricultural Moisture Situation update a warm, dry fall and spring has failed to recharge soil moisture leaving many areas facing once in 50-year lows for this time of year.

“They are dying essentially. It’s something that we’ve never experienced before. We’ve had dry conditions later in the season but to have it at the end of May, beginning of June like this is unprecedented,” said Stephen Vandervalk, a fourth generation farmer in southern Alberta and the vice president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.

“We are out a third of our crop as of today, for sure, and every single day it’s just nose diving. Every day now we are probably losing 5 per cent of our yields, so if we don’t get rain for another week, then half a crop, maybe, is in the cards,” Vandervalk said.

Adding to the problem: grasshopper infiltration.

“We are trying to spot spray areas because otherwise what happens (is) you will lose your entire crop. Zero. Bare to the ground,” Vandervalk said.

He added the only thing saving Alberta now from the catastrophe the province experienced in the 1930s is better farming practices.

“Farming techniques have changed so much that if we were experiencing what we have in the last six years, 30 or 40 years ago, southern Alberta would be a dust bowl,” Vandervalk said.