Anxious eyes look skyward for rain
Drought a worry for Alberta farmers — but dandelions are flourishing
The dry heat baking Alberta is weather only a dandelion could love.
From wildfires consuming tinder-dry forests to farmers hoping for moisture to germinate their newly seeded crops, drought-like conditions across Alberta are becoming a serious concern for a second year in a row.
“In our area, we’re probably just about where we were last year,” said Jason Lenz, who grows barley, wheat, canola and other crops and raises cattle near Bentley, north of Sylvan Lake, and serves as vice-chairman for the Alberta Barley Commission. “The last few days with the wind and the warm temperatures — each day it goes on, it just dries things out more.”
The Alberta government declared an agricultural disaster last August as a result of heat and lack of rain early in the season stunting many crops, with significant rain coming only late in the season.
Last year, Lenz’s farm didn’t see its first rainfall until June 15.
He’s hopeful that rain forecast for later this week comes through for his crops, some of which have been seeded for two or three weeks and have already started germinating.
“That will help us get off to the start that we wanted to with these crops,” he said. “Not only do the crops need it, but the guys with cattle and grassland, they’re getting to a point where they’re desperately needing rain as well.”
Whether parts of Alberta are in the grip of a drought depends on which definition of the word is being used, agricultural or meteorological, said Trevor Hadwen, agroclimate specialist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
“Are we in an agricultural drought in Alberta? I don’t think I’d go that far at this point, but looking at conditions throughout the winter and the lack of snowfall, the conditions throughout much of last year in terms of water-storage recharge and this year, our monitor shows that we are in a Drought Category 1, which is a moderate drought throughout much of Alberta.”
Two pockets of the province are in severe drought — the High Level region and the Calgary-Brooks area, he said. Eastern Alberta has received some rain, but the western edge is still dry.
“The Calgary through Edmonton corridor is the biggest concern for us right now. From an agricultural point of view, we’re starting to get a little bit concerned about that region. We’ve seen less rainfall there than we’d normally like to see at this time of year for sure.”
Besides lack of rain, unseasonably high temperatures and high winds are also drying the soil out, he said.
Epcor has not announced any water restrictions for Edmonton, but encourages conservation practices, spokesman Tim LeRiche said.
One crop that appears to be enduring the drought-like conditions is the dandelion, much to the chagrin of some homeowners.
To help control the flower, not classed as a noxious weed but reviled by many gardeners nonetheless, the City of Edmonton is stepping up mowing of some public green space.
Maurice Pelletier, turf team leader with the city, said grass dries out in arid conditions because its roots are shallow, giving the advantage to dandelions with long tap roots.
“What we’re trying to do is add an extra mowing cycle and cut the heads off before they go to seed,” Pelletier said.
The drought is taking a toll on the city’s playing fields, said Marcus Boutilier, the city’s sports fields supervisor. At some sites, the city will “enhance” maintenance, including adding top dressing, aeration, fertilizer and seeding to stave off dandelions, he said.