Hot, dry conditions with below normal precipitation plagued area farmers throughout the summer months, though conditions have changed slightly from the beginning of August for parts of the South and Central regions.
With increased precipitation the soil moisture reserves have improved from low and moderately low at the end of August to near normal.
“Conditions throughout Starland County were dry and hot, with unseasonable heat occurring during critical periods of crop development in late June through early July,” says Starland County agricultural fieldman Ryan Hallett. “Because of this, many crops did not recover and yielded lower than average.”
Hallett notes rainfall throughout September has slowed harvest, though most of the county’s cereal and legume crops have already been safely harvested.
Farmers are not the only ones who have been affected by the summer’s drought. Cattle and livestock producers have also had to contend with loss of surface water, and low dryland hay yields.
In August the Alberta government announced it would provide $136 million in relief to livestock producers and beekeepers who were impacted by the drought, and on September 7 the province announced an additional $340 million in support program to help cover feed and water access for breeding female livestock.
The provincial crop report shows harvest is ahead of the five and ten year averages by some 21 percent. For the Central region, which includes Kneehill, Starland, and Wheatland County some 45.1 per cent of all crops had been harvested as of Tuesday, September 7--up from the five year average of 16.2 per cent and the ten year average of 15.2 per cent.
County specific reports for the three surrounding counties are not available.
