Alberta’s drought shaping up to be ‘worse than we saw in the 1920s, 1930s’

May 31, 2024

Lentils only like water twice, explained southern Alberta farmer Lynn Jacobson. “When you plant them and when you boil them.” The earthy pulse may not be massively popular but they’re an attractive crop for farmers facing a drought.

“But they all take a certain amount of water and if you don’t have any water, no matter what your plan is, you’re really going to suffer,” said Jacobson.

For months, Albertans have been worrying about what the unusually dry winter with low levels of snowfall and a summer forecast of light rain. Would it mean dying lawns and wilted flowers? An agriculture disaster? A bad wildfire season?

The past few years have been dry, but it’s been almost 25 years since Alberta has been this dry. Some counties have announced states of agricultural emergency. During the last major drought, in 2001–2002, net farm income was zero. It cost the Canadian economy $5.3 billion and 41,000 people lost their jobs across the country.

In April, Alberta got rain. In fact, the rainfall was above normal for that time of year in much of the province — with the exceptions of central and northwestern Alberta — according to an analysis of drought conditions from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

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Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.