Latest news with #cropfailure
CBC
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
'Desperate for rainfall': Farmers, ranchers in southwest Sask. reeling from another dry year
Social Sharing A rural municipality in southwest Saskatchewan is sounding the alarm as the worst dry conditions in almost a decade push crops and livestock to the brink. The RM of Big Stick, located close to the Alberta border about 300 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon, has declared a local state of emergency, and more municipalities may follow as producers face worsening arid conditions. "This is year nine of a drought for us," Quinton Jacksteit, the RM's reeve and a longtime grain farmer, said in an interview. "Our crops, they're desperate for rainfall. "Some of our early crops, like our barley, it's really, it's dying in the field as we speak." Jacksteit said the state of emergency was necessary to get the provincial government's attention and start conversations about better financial assistance for producers. "This [year] is probably the worst, simply because we're in the middle of June and we're already writing crops off, like this shouldn't be happening at this stage," Jacksteit said. He said that even if rain comes now, the damage is already done. "It's hard to have that optimism anymore. I see it in my neighbours that it's very stressful and there's a lot of hurt, "he said. "We need a crop because this year there's going to be financial losses, and they're going to be significant." 'No farm is prepared' for tariffs, says Canadian farmer | Hanomansing Tonight 4 months ago Duration 5:52 Cattle rancher struggling Ross Martin, a councillor for the RM of Big Stick and a cattle rancher, said he's only seen half an inch (around 12 millimetres) of rain fall this spring, and the grass is around four inches (about 10 centimetres) tall. "The cows don't have anything to graze on," he said. "If we don't get some more moisture, they're going to run out of grass before the end of the summer, that's for sure." Martin said he will have to graze his cattle on hay fields normally reserved for winter feed, which he worries will not be enough. "Everybody's worried," he said. "A lot of my friends on the RM are also farmers, and their problem is their crops. They've emerged, but they're only staying about four inches high. And so they're not going to have anything to combine if we don't get some rain." Both Martin and Jacksteit said the current crop insurance programs are not enough, especially after almost a decade of dry conditions. They said insurance no longer covers the true value of their expenses. "We definitely need changes to our program with climate change and everything being what it is," Jacksteit said. "Our government needs to be looking at these programs and … they need to be updated." He said some producers in the area could see losses of $50 per acre (about $20 per hectare) or more this year. "Last year, our durum was valued at $10.85 for the crop insurance program. This year, the government dropped it to $8.50. That's a 20 per cent reduction in our insurance," he said. He compared the situation to Alberta, saying the insurance programs there are superior. "The government has been very slow in reacting to this drought," Jacksteit said. "Now this year, we are in a dire situation. The government hasn't announced any program to help livestock producers." NDP calls for action The Saskatchewan NDP echoed those concerns, calling on the Saskatchewan Party government and the federal Liberal government to step in with support. "Our cattle producers produce the best beef in the world, and they need our support when we see the threat of drought putting livelihoods at risk," the Opposition's deputy agriculture critic, Trent Wotherspoon, said in a statement Tuesday. The NDP is calling for: A drought response committee with representation from municipalities, producers and industry groups. A 10-year deferral of federal capital gains for producers forced to sell off cattle due to drought. Improvement of business risk management programs, with equity for livestock producers. Jacksteit, who chairs Route21 — a group of six RMs in the southwest area, including Maple Creek and Fox Valley — said more municipalities are looking into declaring emergencies. "There will be a voice from a much larger area coming soon," he said. "Rural Saskatchewan has supported you [the Saskatchewan Party government] through all these years, and now we need your support. So don't let us down." 'We're very concerned' Garner Deobald, a rancher from Shamrock — around 75 kilometres west of Moose Jaw — and the immediate past president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, said the dry conditions are just as dire where he is, with widespread crop failures, poor water quality, and little to no hay to cut for winter feed. "Yeah, the conditions right now, we're very concerned," he said. "It's dry," and hay crop is largely "non-existent," he said. The water situation is just as alarming. "We started to do some treating, some dams and dugouts again, just because of algae concerns, and the water quality isn't very good," Deobald said. "There are multiple challenges, and right now we're trying to figure out what we're going to do going forward as far as grazing goes for the summer. And then the big concern is having enough feed supply going into the winter again." Support for livestock producers is urgently needed, he said, especially given how severely the drought is shrinking the provincial cattle herd. "It definitely is urgent because most cattle producers recognize now that there's going to be a very poor hay crop in two-thirds of the province," Deobald said. "We're already to the point where we know that there's going to be a feed shortage in those areas." Deobald said the government needs to step in to help, not just with short-term relief, but to ensure the future viability of the cattle industry.
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Warwickshire farmer has 'written off' crop after a lack of rain
A farmer has blamed a lack of rain through the spring for part of his crop being "written off".Mark Meadows farms arable land in Alderminster near Stratford-upon-Avon, and said his spring wheat "hadn't been growing well" as there had only been one significant rainfall since the seeds were planted in late Met Office said this spring was so far ranking as the driest in over a Meadows added that his ground was "like concrete" and the ruined crop meant he had lost about £3,000. The field was due to be harvested towards the end of August, however Mr Meadows accepted that he had to "start again next year". "It just hasn't rooted as there should have been moisture.""We have lost yield and we can't manage that yield back - there's not enough time now to put a crop in that would be viable this year", he told BBC Midlands Today. The wheat from a nearby field that was planted eight days earlier had benefited from the March rainfall and could still be sold, but Mr Meadows said it was not as mature as he would have liked. Richard Simkin who farms in Essington, Staffordshire, said he could not remember a spring that had been as dry and sunny as this year, however he added that the strawberries he grew had not been strawberries were grown in polytunnels and drip-fed water which had been extracted from a borehole on his land. Although Mr Simkin had not been affected by the drought, he said the sunnier weather meant his strawberries were ready to be picked "at least 10 days earlier than normal".He added that his farm near Wolverhampton also grew pumpkins, which were due to be planted in the next two weeks. The farmer said if the drought continued, he could experience problems with his pumpkin yield. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Weather: Farmers pray for rain amid driest spring on record
A twofold blow of record sunshine and low rainfall has left crops in "survival mode" and struggling to grow, a farmer has Met Office previously confirmed April 2025 saw the most sunshine in the UK since records began 115 years ago - with 47% more hours of sunshine than the long-term recent weather follows England's wettest 18-month period between October 2022 and March 2024, which caused damage to the soil, according the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Arable farmer Nigel Friend raises animals and grows crops at Cranborne Chase in Dorset, he says unless weather improves in the next ten days, there could be grain shortages. Mr Friend told BBC radio presenter Steve Harris he has been farming all his life and this year, they need "significant amounts of rainfall". "Crops are suffering, the increased heat is causing problems for animals as well, with things like fly strike on sheep being very early this year and obviously we're preserving our foraged stocks for the winter ahead, because we don't have any grass," he Friend said farmers across the UK had "suffered two horrendously wet years" which had damaged the soil, but after the recent dry weather he is now finding cracks on his farm at least 10in (25.4cm) deep. George Brown who grows porridge oats, spring barley and white clover on Priors Farm in Peasemore near Newbury shares Mr Friend's said: "You've got to remind yourself you've been very lucky to have the sun at your back, but really I've been praying for rain for the last six weeks. "We wanted some rain to get the crops growing out of the ground, but it just hasn't turned up." 'Disastrous crop' Mr Friend is expecting dry weather for another 10 weeks based on long range forecasting, but said the next 10 days would be "crucial" for farmers."Normally by now you would expect wheat to be knee high, at the moment it's halfway between your ankle and your knee. "The weather over the next 10 days will make the difference between us having reasonable crop to harvest and a disastrous crop due to the lack of moisture."Mr Friend's concerns come after the Environment Agency warned there is a "medium risk" of a summer Met Office told BBC Weather the UK has had an average rainfall accumulation of 80mm so far this spring, compared to an average of 229mm, making it the driest spring on record. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
