In a year where moisture conditions across the province have rebounded, it appears that Mountain View County is an outlier.
Dallas Christopherson's farm northwest of Olds produced a Top 3 yield of all time last year, growing wheat, barley and canola. But he's hoping for just an average one this time.
"Last year we had those extremely timely rains. This year, we're running a little short on moisture right now. If we get some timely rain from now until middle of August, we could probably salvage the crop. Even a half inch per week would make a big difference," Christopherson said.
According to Alberta Agriculture's June 14 crop report, surface moisture was "rated at 81 per cent good or excellent compared to 28 per cent a year ago." Subsurface soil moisture has also improved as well.
But online data from the province's AgroClimatic Information Service (ACIS) reveals just how dry it's been locally, with accumulated precipitation totals below normal at several weather stations.
In Sundre, about 164 millimetres of rain normally would have fallen between April 1 and June 21. The Sundre A weather station reports 53.30 mm. The Sundre South station reports 61.9 mm.
The station at Olds College typically reports 150.4 mm in that time. This year, only 72 mm has fallen.
At Dixon Dam, the normal accumulated rainfall is 151.30 mm. The station reports 95.2 mm.
Alberta Agriculture's soil moisture expert Ralph Wright said the west part of Mountain View County is experiencing conditions that would only be seen twice in a 50-year period, on average. The east part of the county is experiencing one in six-year lows.
There isn't much that farmers can do about it, either.
"You're completely at the mercy of Mother Nature," Christopherson said. "Farming has always been that way in that you have zero control over the weather and markets for your products."
Christopherson has a neighbour who has tried irrigating his farm in the past, with success. Another mitigating practice in past decades has been developing drought-tolerant grain varieties, which have been effective in places like southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Midwestern U.S., he said.
Wright said the county's wettest season starts in mid-June and lasts until the third week of July, averaging as much as 25 mm of rain per week.
"This early in the game, it's really difficult to tell what it's going to be in the fall," he said. "Maybe in six weeks from now, you guys might be praying for less rain. It's hard to say."
Too much rain has traditionally been the challenge for the area, one that presents more problems than the lack of it, Christopherson said.
"If I had my choice, I'll take a drier year like this over a year that has excessive rain because it costs a lot of money to farm in mud," he said.
"It's easier on equipment and easier on soil when it's a little drier as opposed to when it's wet, muddy, lumping. That doesn't work at all."
"If we get some timely rain from now until middle of August, we could probably salvage the crop. Even a half inch per week would make a big difference." DALLAS CHRISTOPHERSON, farmer
