By Ric Swihart
Alberta

Let it rain. Let it rain. Let it rain.

Even snow won’t be refused right across Alberta as farmers search for that elusive spring moisture needed to give crops a jump.
Joe Michielsen of Lethbridge, interrupted two weeks into his province-wide soil moisture survey, said the rain and snow brought his work to a halt.
In southern Alberta, the moisture will have an immediate impact since the vital crop seed germination topsoil on much of the farmed land was parched by the recent hurricane-strength winds.

He has measured subsurface moisture in much of The South at 30 to 45 millimetres, about normal or slightly below normal levels, adding to the value of spring precipitation.
Once crop are seeded, said Michielsen, farmers will need rains or snow to promote crop growth, and hopefully, like last year, the precipitation will be timely, allowing for optimum crop growth with a minimum of rain.

Michielsen said hay and pasture land will benefit from the latest precipitation. That is critical this year because cattle producers could have difficult times finding enough hay to buy to maintain herds until pasture grass is ready. And that hay this spring is very expensive, partly because of the shortage of the animal ration.
A compounding problem with low levels of winter precipitation, including snow that can melt and collect in sloughs or dugout, is the worry for pasture water supplies. Most of the sloughs normally with water are dry this year, and the water level in many dugouts is lower than normal.

The region bounded by Highway 13 Hanna to Oyen and Highway 16 Edmonton to Lloydminster east of Highway 16 is shaping up for a second consecutive severe drought, said Michielsen. Still, he said the majority of Alberta’s farmed land is dry, in fact, well below normal soil moisture levels.
The good news is that March traditionally is dry, with moisture levels improving through April and May with June the wettest month of the year.

“It is way too early to panic,” said Michielsen. “We have gone from a drought in May to a flood in June, but for ideal crop germination this spring, farmers need moisture right away.”

Officials at the federal-provincial irrigation demonstration farm at the Lethbridge Research Centre measured 42 millimetres of water equivalent — rain and snow — in the weather pattern about 4 p.m. Wednesday that blasted southern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan.
Joe Michielsen of Lethbridge, provincial soil moisture technologist for Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, said almost two inches of moisture in mid-April “is like gold in the bank for farmers.”
“Even if the snow melts quickly, most of the water will soak directly into the soil because it was so dry before the rain and snow hit,” he said. “This precipitation will create ideal surface moisture conditions for seeding and help the subsurface moisture conditions.”