Achi news desk-
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. –
After a dry winter, southern Alberta farmers were expecting another tough growing season.
But recent rain offers hope that this year could be different.
For two days much of southern Alberta was hit by heavy rain storms.
Some areas such as Magrath managed to get around three and a half inches of rainfall during the storm.
That was something that could change the game for some farmers.
“We feel a lot better,” said Sean Stanford, who farms near Magrath. “We feel relieved. It was a good storm, lots of moisture coming down. A different amount throughout southern Alberta, but we were quite lucky in my area we got quite a bit of rain. It’s really going to help the crops this year.”
Big change
The recent storm marks a major change from previous years.
Last year Magrath only saw about three inches of rain throughout the growing season.
The wet start to the 2024 growing season has made farmers in the region feel optimistic.
Stanford said “It’s great news. Everyone is quite excited and upbeat about it. There are still guys who are seeding and trying to get into the field and things like that. But most people have some crops in the ground already so it’s going to be great for those.”
Some areas were not so lucky.
Fort MacLeod and Claresholm only saw about an inch and a half of rain.
But after such a dry winter, any moisture is welcome.
“It’s wet out there,” said Stephen Vandervalk who farms outside Fort Macleod. “We won’t be able to seed for a few days. Nothing like Medicine Hat and those three or four inch areas in areas, but it’s obviously huge.
“We needed the rain,” he added. “Maybe (it) makes the seeding difficult but in the long run, it’s great (news).”
Need more rain
Farmers are not out of the woods yet.
Although this rain helps, more will be needed throughout the growing season to compensate for reduced irrigation allocations.
That said, the prognosis is optimistic and the outlook promising.
“We’re going to need a lot more going forward, but it’s a huge start,” Vandervalk said. “We haven’t seen rain like that since 2020 and then four or five years before that.”
More rain could be on the way.
Long-term outlook for the environment and climate change Canada predicts that the Lethbridge region could experience average to above-average rainfall in May and June.
