Heat burns Alberta's crops

Relentless summer heat burns up 30% of crops in Alberta's south, says province

Calgary Herald,

4 September, 2017

The hottest summer on record has reduced southern Alberta crops by as much as 30 per cent below average, states a provincial report.

While crops in the province’s north have flourished due to sufficient rains and timely hot weather, those in many places in the south have struggled, said Mark Cutts, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

“The crops are all suffering from a lack of moisture,” said Cutts, who noted the late August crop report also shows those yields are 25 to 30 per cent lower than last year’s.

The Aug. 1 crop report predicted production was off 10 to 20 per cent, but with harvesting now well-advanced, the results are seen to be considerably lower, he said.

And he said the hope is now for heavy precipitation once the harvest is complete to aid next year’s crops.

Kelly Malmberg, who farms canola, wheat and barley east of High River, agreed, saying moisture levels are also a concern looking ahead to 2018.

“We need four to six inches of good precipitation to recharge our soil,” said Malmberg, who’s also an agriculture fieldman for Vulcan County.

“Hopefully this doesn’t spiral into a multi-year drought.”

Some of the northern areas of Vulcan County, he said, have enjoyed decent crops, but on farms further south, “it really gets ugly.”

“The wind and heat this summer is incredible.”

The last good rain that fell anywhere in the south, said Malmberg, was in early July and there hasn’t been any sustained moisture since June.

While wheat has been somewhat able to withstand the elements, moisture-sensitive crops such as canola and barley have noticeably suffered, said both Malmberg and Cutts.

“For canola, I’m getting six to 20 bushels an acre, while in a very good year, it’ll be 30 to 40,” said Malmberg.

He also said destructive grasshoppers seem to be making an unwelcome comeback, thriving in the dry heat.

For Malmberg, it’s bringing back memories of the 1980s, “when you’d go around a curve and your tires would slide on all the grasshoppers.”

The province’s Cutts couldn’t confirm that but said these kinds of conditions are to the pests’ advantage.

“With the potential to better lay their eggs, that population could get bigger next year,” he said.

Another sign of the parched conditions is the speed of the harvest, which is nearly 60 per cent complete, at least double the norm for this time of year, said Cutts.

“Things are whipping along pretty good that way,” he said.

“Most producers would just like to get it done.”

An earlier completion to the harvest would also allow farmers to benefit from any autumn moisture, he said.

Environment Canada’s long-term forecast for the Prairies is for milder-than-normal weather.