Heavy snowfalls and slow melts can help farmers

Nov 27, 2017

Winter moisture could account for 25 per cent of annual moisture in some parts of Alberta

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

Fields with good soil moisture levels prior to winter’s arrival can go a long way for farmers, according to Ralph Wright, head of agrometeorology with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

“Once the soil is frozen, obviously no water is going to get in there and a lot of it will just run off,” he told Farms.com on Friday. “Winter doesn’t greatly impact soil moisture, but it definitely helps, there’s no question about that.”

But the amount of snow that falls doesn’t necessarily translate into the same amount of moisture accumulated, according to Keith Gabert, an agronomist with the Canola Council of Canada.

“We say it typically takes about 10 inches of snow to amount to one inch of moisture,” he told Farms.com. “Snow has much less moisture content than rain, but it could have an impact on some fields.”

“But one good rain after seeding in the spring can change the whole story on a field.”

And farmers are taking steps to ensure their fields absorb as much moisture as they can.

Photo: ligora/iStock/Getty Images Plus

“Now that we’re zero-tilling and with stubble standing, the stubble catches more snow,” said Dale McQuid, a grain and cattle farmer from Vermilion, Alta. “If we get a lot of snow and a slow melt, the moisture can sink in and there’s a big benefit to that. The same goes for later, heavier snows like those in March and April.”

“When we were doing conventional tillage, we noticed we lost some of the moisture we gained from the winter.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.