Lethbridge-area farmers concerned mild winter will mean another dry growing season

Some Lethbridge-area farmers are expecting another tough growing season.

LETHBRIDGE -

While a mild winter is good news for most, it has some farmers worried about the upcoming growing season.

Snowfalls have been few and far between.

Stephen Vandervalk, who grows malt barley, believes it's the sign of another dry growing season to come.

"It's a huge concern. I don't know how else to state it. Five of the last six years have been really dry. In fact, I think we've been in crop insurance five of the last six years," Vandervalk said.

"Last year was horrendously dry and the year before that even worse."

Lack of moisture also means less snowpack in the mountains.

Much of the water used by farmers in southern Alberta for irrigation comes from snowpack melting in the spring.

"We rely on that snowpack for a large portion of our water source over the summer. It does have a concerning effect and it has had an effect on some of our irrigation districts," said Lynn Jacobson, president of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture.

Lack of snowpack isn't ideal, but it's not impossible to overcome.

A wet spring would go a long way toward helping farmers.

"It's still fairly early. It's only February yet. March and April have yet to come and we have had major snow events and moisture events in those months," Jacobson said.

But some don't share the same optimism and are expecting another tough growing season.

"Our farm is about 25 per cent irrigated, so it's a huge concern. And I'm suspecting we might be on water rationing for our crops this year. We won't get as much water as we normally get. So yeah, it's a combination of not having water for irrigation and not having water from rain," Vandervalk said.

Farmers in southern Alberta have dealt with hot and dry growing seasons for several years in a row.