A forecast of hot, dry weather for the upcoming months has many Alberta farmers worried about crop production.

“Above-normal temperatures” are likely until the end of August in southern and central Alberta, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Bill McMurtry.

This could be combined with less precipitation than normal, said McMurtry, cautioning there are limitations when forecasting seasonal levels.

“In general, the spring so far has been relatively dry in many locations, particularly in the agricultural belt across the Prairies,” he said.

Mark Cutts, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture, said the effects on farmers could be “extensive.”

“We could see an impact on yield,” he said. “Moisture would certainly be welcome. There doesn’t seem to be a call for what we really need, which is a one, or even better, two-day type rain.”

All that farmers can do at this point is pray for rain, said Lynn Jacobson, president of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture.

“It’s a waiting game for a lot of people now,” he said. “If they don’t get some decent moisture in the next week or week and a half in some areas, it’s really going to start hurting the crop and the production.” Jacobson said some crops, such as chickpeas, hold out better against drought. Others, like barley, could fare poorly.

“You can’t really prepare beforehand,” he said.

Another concern that comes with drier weather is the potential for an increase of grasshoppers that invade farmland.

“Once they hatch, if their conditions remain warm and dry, they’ll be productive,” Cutts said. “When they find a plant type that they favour in terms of their diet, then they will just feed on that crop, so potentially they could have an impact on the amount of plants that are in a field.”

The forecast has some farmers worried about their livelihood.

“As a farmer, we grow barley to make money,” said Brian Otto, who also harvests wheat and yellow peas in Warner, about 70 kilometres southeast of Lethbridge. “It’s how we operate our farms, and certainly if we have reduced yield, that’s less to sell. It has a direct impact on the cash flow of the farm.”

On Tuesday, canola farmer Steve Selgensen was out spraying crops in his field in Hussar, about 100 kilometres east of Calgary. “There’s different grades of sprays you can put on these crops, and everybody’s just looking for the cheapest bang for their buck because they don’t want to spend anymore than they have to,” Selgensen said. “It’s looking not-so-good right now.”

Otto said he prepares for the possibility of drought by taking out crop insurance.

“The years you have good crops, you have to be trying to keep that money set aside for the eventuality,” he said. “In southern Alberta, we’re prone to drought once in a while, so you’ve got to be prepared for that.”

About 160 km north of Calgary in Sylvan Lake, farmer Jason Lenz said it’s been the driest spring in 15 years.

“The crops didn’t germinate as vigorously,” he said. “At this time of year, your crops are a little bit thinner, just not as even as they normally are, and that’s directly related to the amount of moisture we have … Our farm is in generally a very high rainfall area, and to have dry conditions like this is really uncommon.”

Otto said there are systems to preserve moisture in the ground longer that didn’t exist 20 or 30 years ago, which help farmers in these situations. However, they are otherwise powerless against the detrimental effects of the weather.

“The farmers are at the mercy of mother nature,” he said. “How far out can we predict? We can’t.”

Source - Calgary Herald