CALGARY — A wetter-than-expected spring has Western Canadian farmers breathing a sigh of relief, but drought remains a significant worry.
After last year's hot, dry conditions on the prairies and below-average snowfall this winter, many farmers had been bracing for a possible repeat in 2024.
LeRoy Newman, who farms just south of Calgary, said last year's drought was so bad in his area that his 2023 crop was a"disaster." This spring's milder temperatures and series of gentle rainfalls have come as a big relief, he said. But while welcome spring precipitation has eased those fears somewhat, the threat of drought lingers. Drought is cumulative, and parts of Western Canada have experienced drier-than-normal conditions over and over throughout the last decade.
The federal government's most recent Drought Monitor report said that as of the end of April,"multi-year precipitation deficits" exist throughout much of Western Canada. It said despite much of the prairie region receiving 150 per cent of normal precipitation for the month,"extreme" and"exceptional" drought conditions persisted across parts of Alberta and B.C.
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