In case you were not paying attention, we’ve done a lot of stories over the course of the spring about wet weather, wet conditions, flooding etc. To be fair, it has been big news. Those conditions have taken a real economic and emotional toll on all those affected. That being said, when those events occur, other areas and their problems seem to get lost in the shuffle. One of those areas is the Peace River Region of Northern Alberta. Over the past few years farmers there have been dealing with a lack of moisture that has made it difficult to grow any crop at all.
One of the problems is the spottiness of the moisture that does show up. That inconsistency makes it hard for farmers to make input decisions. Fertilizing is great if you’ve got the moisture to make it work, otherwise you’re just adding insult to injury. Farmers are already stuck with the expense of putting their crop in the ground, now it’s a matter of waiting to see if conditions will make that investment pay off.
Jason Casselman is with Dunvegan Ag Solutions Incorporated based out of Rycroft, Alberta. I spoke with him over the phone about the state of the crop in the Peace Region and what producers there are dealing with.
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