Dry winter has Alberta farmers longing for rain

Apr 06, 2016

Lack of moisture could impact grass and forage

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Farmers, in Alberta especially, need rain.

After an extremely dry and warm winter, producers in the province are hoping the rain falls as a crucial time approaches.

Murray Marsh, a grain and cattle farmer near Carstairs, Alberta, told CBC that some of his 120 cows are ready to give birth and rains are needed to provide enough food for the herd.

“If we don’t get the moisture prior to mid-April, it starts to limit the amount of grass and forage we’ll get,” he said.

Rain

“It would be ideal if we could get some moisture now,” Debbie Marsh, Murray’s wife said in an interview with CBC.

According to Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s latest Moisture Situation Update, parts of Alberta experienced the kind of drought that only comes around every 50 years.

Rain is coming, but producers in Alberta wonder if it will be enough.

Data from The Weather Network shows light rain on Thursday, April 14, and Monday, April 18 could be cloudy with showers.

Alberta farmers have been struggling with drought since at least last August, when the province declared an agricultural disaster after uncooperative weather was estimated to decrease crop yields by as much as 30 per cent.

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.