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Weekend rainfall a blessing for Alberta’s agricultural industry
May 22, 2016 - A rainy May long weekend may have put a damper on camping plans, but it's been a blessing for Alberta's parched crops.
On Saturday and Sunday alone, Edmonton received as much precipitation as it has in the past six months, including snowfall, said Stan Blade, dean of the University of Alberta's Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences.
"It's a fantastic start to have this kind of rainfall, we've all been waiting for it. This spring was so good as far as early seeding. Farmers across Alberta got out early, they seeded their crops, and then it was like hitting the pause button because it was so dry," Blade said.
"The weekend has been just exactly what we were hoping for."
Last year, the Alberta government declared an agricultural disaster after a spring drought and hail in the summer affected around 80 per cent of Alberta farmers, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in insurance claims.
May 24, 2016 By CBC.ca
