Flooding rain across Prairies may not be enough to end prolonged drought conditions. Here's why

Jul 06, 2022

After last year's record-breaking heat and dry weather, the rain this spring and summer has been welcome to many on the Prairies.

Yet, despite all the rain, drought conditions continue in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

And while it seems like this extra bump of rain is the solution to the drought, is it actually enough? Though it may be hard to believe, the answer is likely no.

Trevor Hadwen, an agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, says many parts of western Saskatchewan and most of southern Alberta is experiencing moderate to severe drought.

Last summer's drought was the worst in about 70 years for the extent and severity of the dryness, according to Agriculture and Agrifood Canada.

Hadwen says the rain this spring just isn't enough to replenish the moisture loss.

"Just because conditions have been improving doesn't mean that all the drought impacts from last year are resolved," he says.

Pastures in the entire Prairie region are below normal levels in terms of production based on the dry fall period. According to Hadwen, there are also issues with hay and feed shortages.

"The moisture that we've received this spring certainly has improved the situation, but there's still a whole lot of issues in the agricultural sector that we're trying to deal with."

This June has been marked by incredible rainfall across Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Edmonton has seen almost twice its normal rainfall for June so far.

Calgary saw the Bow River flood with the city declaring a state of local emergency, and in Saskatchewan, intense storms with flooding rains turned parking lots into swimming pools.

So how can we still be talking about drought amid flooding rainfall? Hadwen says that there are a few factors at play. One has to do with how quickly some of this month's rain has fallen.

"If you're looking at water supply recharge, those big rainfall events certainly help," he says

According to Hadwen, that rainfall will fill dugouts and reservoirs, but for things like soil moisture and soil reserves it's a different story.

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Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

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