Alberta’s drought shaping up to be ‘worse than we saw in the 1920s, 1930s’

Lentils only like water twice, explained southern Alberta farmer Lynn Jacobson. “When you plant them and when you boil them.” The earthy pulse may not be massively popular but they’re an attractive crop for farmers facing a drought.

The past few years have been dry, but it’s been almost 25 years since Alberta has been this dry. Some counties have announced states of agricultural emergency. During the last major drought, in 2001–2002, net farm income was zero. It cost the Canadian economy $5.3 billion and 41,000 people lost their jobs across the country.

In April, Alberta got rain. In fact, the rainfall was above normal for that time of year in much of the province — with the exceptions of central and northwestern Alberta — according to an analysis of drought conditions from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.