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CBC
6 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
Latest drought data has dropped. Here's what it says about Nova Scotia
Parts of Nova Scotia are now in severe drought, according to the latest update from the Canadian Drought Monitor. The monitor, managed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, classifies drought in five categories. By July 31, all of the province was registering drought conditions, ranging from the least severe category to the third highest. Most of the province was in moderate drought, while parts of the Annapolis Valley, Cumberland County and Cape Breton, along with a larger area in central Nova Scotia, was facing severe drought. An area in southwestern Nova Scotia was abnormally dry — the least serious category. "In July, the Atlantic region received below-normal precipitation, with large portions of Nova Scotia getting less than 40 per cent of their usual monthly total," said the agency's analysis. Ian Spooner, a professor of environmental science at Acadia University, said the province is no stranger to droughts, including in 2016, 2020 and 2023. However, he said this time around "is a little different in that we've got absolutely no rain really in about a month." Trevor Hadwen, an expert with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, said the monitor bases its categories — D0 to D4 — on different indicators, such as precipitation and temperature. Each category is based on the percentile chance of those conditions occurring, and is specific to the area. That means a D1 drought in Manitoba will not look the same as a D1 drought in Nova Scotia. Nationally, 71 per cent of the country was classified as having drought conditions at the end of July, including a number of areas with extreme drought. Drought categories and their rarity D0 — Abnormally Dry — 1 in 3 year event D1 — Moderate Drought — 1 in 5 year event D2 — Severe Drought — 1 in 10 year event D3 — Extreme Drought — 1 in 20 year event D4 — Exceptional Drought — 1 in 50 year event Hadwen said what the recent data shows is an "intensification" of the drought conditions in Nova Scotia. He said while the province has seen pockets of drought before, this one is affecting all of the province and the Atlantic region as a whole. "The last time we saw really significant rain in Nova Scotia was early June," said Hadwen. "In the last 60 days ... that's over 100 millimetres of lost precipitation." How dry is it in Nova Scotia? Meteorologist Ryan Snoddon explains 6 days ago The last time Nova Scotia had substantial rain across the province was in early June. CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddon says our next chance of rain likely won't come until late next week. Spooner said the drought is being felt by people in their daily lives. "I live in a farming community, Grand-Pré, N.S., and people are very concerned," he said. "I live on a property in which we have big gardens … and we can see the effects." Nova Scotia has imposed a ban on going into the woods, to avoid starting wildfires. Municipalities have also asked residents to conserve water, and fire departments have sounded the alarm on water levels in ponds and lakes. A wildfire that started on Tuesday near Halifax's Bayers Lake Business Park was still out of control on Wednesday. Spooner said while any amount of rain would be helpful, the reality is that only sustained amounts will make a significant difference.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
'Everything is dying': Prairie farmers, crops struggling with yearly droughts
REGINA — It's the ninth year in a row Quinton Jacksteit's farm has experienced drought. The southwest Saskatchewan farmer, who also is the reeve for the Rural Municipality of Big Stick, says his crops are extremely short, and he plans to salvage most of them for animal feed. "They're not going to be able to make much of a yield," he said in a recent interview from his home near Golden Prairie, east of the Saskatchewan-Alberta boundary. "I'm going to scrape through and maybe be able to go another year, but I have a couple of boys that want to farm, and it's not something that I would recommend to them at this particular time." Others are worse off, he added. "It may be the end for them. That could be a three- or four-generation farm." Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's drought monitor shows swaths of the country have been anywhere from abnormally dry to extremely parched. Trevor Hadwin, an agri-climate specialist with the department, said southwest Saskatchewan, near the Alberta boundary, has been severely depleted of moisture for eight years. This year, he said, pastures have dried up and ranchers are looking to buy extra hay they can't grow. Some have also reduced their herds or moved cattle to green pastures. "Sometimes, that's been 300, 400 kilometres away," Hadwen said. "For crop producers, we're seeing a reduction in yield potential. Crops are maturing much more rapidly than you would hope and will not produce as much seed content." Alberta's Peace River region in the northwest, as well as the province's southwest corner, are also arid, he added. In Saskatchewan, Big Stick and neighbouring municipalities have declared states of emergency to spread awareness of the drought. Virginia Maier, the reeve of Enterprise, said her peas likely won't produce pods. Nor does she expect her durum to grow without rain. "Everything is short, everything is dying," Maier said. "When (drought) goes on for so many years, it's starting to get depressing." She said costs for fertilizer and other inputs have been high while crop prices are low. "I think we'll be OK, but there are others saying, 'Do I just get out and sell the land and rent it and just be done with it?'" In the province's northern agricultural region, a dry spring is expected to cut hay yields by 50 per cent, said Christine Strube, who farms and ranches northwest of Prince Albert. Strube said a recent decision by the province and Ottawa to allow farmers to sell their regular crops as animal feed without getting dinged on insurance will be helpful. "The key thing now is that we just get some consistent rains throughout the summer," she said. Jacksteit said additional changes to crop insurance are needed, including a per-acre payment or a program that would allow farmers to salvage seed without getting penalized on their coverage. "We've just gotten into a state where expenses are climbing and at the same time, our insurance coverages have dropped to a point of where they no longer cover the cost of that farm," he said. "We're not trying to be beggars or anything like that. We're just trying to make the government aware that our programs aren't working." Saskatchewan's agriculture ministry, in a statement, said the province is willing to work with Ottawa to discuss how they can enhance insurance programs. It said there are options available for farmers who choose not to divert their crops to feed. Hadwen said the summer weather outlook is not favourable for drought-ridden regions. "There's still a little bit of time to recover for some areas, but other areas are probably in for it for the summer," he said. Environment and Climate Change Canada's forecast predicts a warmer-than-usual summer with uncertain precipitation levels. Bill Merryfield, a research scientist with the weather office, recently said human pollution has been a key influence on hotter summers. Tinder dry conditions have also created the fuel needed to start hundreds of wildfires across the country, forcing thousands in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to flee their communities earlier this spring. As of Friday, Manitoba has reported 60 active wildfires, with residents of Lynn Lake now being told they'll have to evacuate for a second time. Saskatchewan has reported 65 active fires, with five communities under evacuation. Don Connick, who farms near Gull Lake in southwest Saskatchewan, said long-term planning is needed to deal with persistent drought. A director with the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, Connick said farmers should consider changing how they graze cattle and create a network to supply hay to those in short supply. More research and water retention ponds also are needed, he added. "(Drought) is happening year after year after year," he said. "Crop insurance has been very helpful in this, but again, they have limitations as to what they can do." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025. Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBC
25-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
'Everything started regrowing': Alberta farmers welcome rainfall
Recent rainy days have given a big boost to local farmers and producers. With up to 100 millimetres of precipitation in parts of the province this past weekend, the rain is being heralded as "a blessing" by Airdrie-area farmer Larry Woolliams. "The rain is impeccable timing for a lot of us around the Rocky View area," he said. Woolliams Farms, which grows hay, seed and straw, benefited significantly from the wet weather, with Airdrie receiving more than 70 millimetres of rain since last Friday. With drought conditions in the area, the rainfall couldn't have been more welcome, Woolliams said. "Things stopped growing upwards. They were growing downwards, trying to chase that water," he said. "It's just not good prime growing conditions," Woolliams said about dealing with dry soil and high temperatures exacerbated by strong winds. He said he only had up to two weeks of reserve moisture for his crops before the much-needed rainfall. "You could just see everything give that sigh of relief once this rain started coming," he said. "Everything started regrowing." Parts of Alberta soaked, others dry Much of Alberta experienced the rainfall, but some parts of the province are still dealing with drought conditions. Trevor Hadwen, an agroclimate specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, said farms that received heavy rainfall will benefit significantly, but some areas didn't receive as much rain as they needed. "Certainly the rainfall has helped in many regions of the province, but areas in the north, especially the Peace River region, and areas in the southeast did not receive very much rainfall, or any at all, this past weekend," he said. "We've seen extremely dry conditions in both those regions this spring." According to Hadwen, Calgary and the surrounding area benefited the most from the rainfall, with some precipitation totals west of the city reaching over 100 millimetres. Parts of western and central Alberta received 50 to 75 millimetres, he said. "The main agricultural region of Alberta got significant moisture this past weekend," he said. "This is a blessing for sure. This provides [farmers impacted by drought conditions] optimism to move forward. It provides them a couple weeks of good moisture and it provides some ability to move forward in the season without this rainfall." Hadwen also said the heavy rainfall did not come with many of the negative outcomes often associated with similar weather events, like plant washout or infrastructure damage. "We're not hearing that, so the storm event seems to be all positive at this point," he said. Despite that relief for many local farmers, drought conditions outside of those areas remain "a very big concern for producers in the region," Hadwen said. "The area of Medicine Hat, down in the [southeast] corner of the province, we are watching that area very closely," he said. According to the government of Alberta, the Medicine Hat area is classified as abnormally dry, while some of the province's southernmost parts are experiencing severe drought conditions. Lethbridge, which received just under 45 millimetres of rain on Saturday, is among the communities impacted by severe drought conditions.
CBC
19-05-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Farmers and meteorologists say record rainfall in southeast Sask. could help growing season
Farmers and weather observers in southeast Saskatchewan say last week's record-breaking rain could be a boon for this year's growing season. On May 15 and 16 a storm brought significant rainfall to the southeastern corner of the province, with some communities receiving over 100 millimetres of rain in 48 hours. "What we saw was a developing low pressure system that crossed through Montana and stalled out essentially right over the central portions of North Dakota," said Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Eric Dykes. "It moved all the moisture up from the southeast up through the United States's midwestern states, pushed it up into Manitoba, and retrograded back towards southeastern portions of Saskatchewan where it basically just kind of sat there over several days." According to the government of Canada weather service, Estevan received over 70 millimetres of rain, while Maryfield and Esterhazy, two communities close to the southeastern border with Manitoba, saw 59 millimetres and 47 millimetres. The service also reported that volunteer weather observers had reported close to 100 millimetres of rain in Kenosee Lake, and 108 millimetres in Radville, a community 100 kilometres northwest of Estevan. Moisture will help famers Trevor Hadwen, an agro-climate specialist from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, said that the added moisture from the rain will benefit farmers, especially those who have already seeded their crops. "We've seen drops in our soil moisture right across the province, leading to a little bit more concern than we did at the end of last month," he said on May 14. "But certainly still in the area of much more positive outlook than we've seen in the last number of years for the province." As of April 30, while not in official drought conditions, several areas along the southern edge of the province were classified as abnormally dry. The following two weeks saw very little rain, adding to the lack of moisture but also allowing some farmers to seed their crops before the rain began. "Areas that have been seeded already will benefit greatly from the precipitation that we've seen," said Hadwen. "Precipitation also slows down that seeding a little bit. So producers that still haven't got it out in the fields and had limited seeding done, mostly in the south or on the northeastern corner of the province, they're the furthest behind." "Areas down that southwest corner that are most advanced and seeding really want this moisture right now." Jason Leblanc, who grows mainly grains and oil seeds outside of Estevan and who got his seeding done early, said the rain couldn't have come at a better time. He said his farm received around 90 millimetres over the course of Thursday and Friday. "It was a perfect rain," he said. "We don't want any more of it. We of course want that again in about three weeks, but we can handle that kind of rain." " For the last four years we've been seeding a little bit earlier with the El Niño effect. And then this year, the prediction was we would seed a bit earlier and get some moisture. And that's exactly what happened." Saskatchewan's main growing season begins in late May and runs around 100 days until mid-September. "The last two years have been pretty dry for us. Even if we got the moisture, we were getting such long spells of sun or heat, it was just too hot. It would burn the flowers off," he said.
