Grainswest - Winter 2022

Winter 2022 Grains West 28 “We’re really encouraging farmers to soil test to see what they’ve got. That’s really important to save them money and understand what they have going into 2022 so they don’t over-fertilize.” —Sheri Strydhorst Photo:Pixabay AGRONOMIC IMPLICATIONS How drought may impact field practices in the coming season As 2020 wound down, growing conditions seemed reasonable across the province said Ross McKenzie, a semi-retired agronomist in Lethbridge. For more than 45 years he’s played in Alberta dirt and tracked agronomic conditions. “Some areas were a little drier than normal but I wouldn’t call them drought years, maybe just a bit drier than normal,” he said. “Even last fall, we had ‘near’ and ‘normal’ precipitation going into winter.” However, as 2021 unfolded, McKenzie documented 10 straight months of below average precipitation between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 in the Lethbridge area. It was a similar story in many areas of the province. This shortfall was keenly felt by all farmers between the critical dates of May 1 and July 31. The entire province averaged 63 per cent of normal rainfall during that timeframe. The hardest hit areas were Lethbridge (33 per cent of normal), Blackie (47 per cent) and Oyen (54 per cent) while the top three rainfall regions were Manning (96 per cent), Lacombe (84 per cent) and Vermilion (71 per cent). Temperatures soared all the while and the highest temperature in the province was recorded at Grande Prairie (41.5 C) on June 29. During the heat dome of June 27 to July 3, 49 Alberta temperature records were set and next door, Yellowgrass, SK, lost its Canadian designation as the hottest spot in the country’s history. The government of Alberta declared the province experienced a less-than-once- in-50-year low for precipitation in its July 13, 2021, update. AFSC reported crop yield was 37 per cent of the five-year average. Despite this, the quality of all crops was better than average with the exception of malting barley and oats. Across Alberta, the northwest reported the highest yields, 20 per cent below the five-year average, while the south had the worst yields, approximately 56 per cent below the five-year average. The Palliser Triangle was the hardest hit area of the Prairies, McKenzie noted, and said even irrigated farmers had to work overtime. Just due to the heat alone, yields take a 10 to 15 per cent hit. “Most farmers did the best they could; it was unprecedented,” he said. “Historically, the brown and dark brown zones are typically a little warmer and drier than the rest of the Prairies. We really almost have to accept the occasional drought year.” McKenzie said Alberta, but especially its southern area, fared well between 2002 and 2015, which were years primarily characterized by adequate moisture, if anything. However, 2021 was all about the heat. The heat dome collided with head emergence and the results were disastrous, said Sheri Strydhorst, agronomy research specialist with Alberta Barley and the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC). She also farms at Neerlandia with her husband Shane. “Thirty-plus extreme heat around Canada Day was the end for productivity,” she said. “It kind of secured those really low yields.” Given the extreme weather farmers faced, Strydhorst said they must test their soil. “2021 could be a blessing given how fertilizer prices are for the 2022 crop year,” she said. “We’re really FEATURE