Conditions were so good this spring that Mark Miyanaga planted his potato crop on April 5, 10 days earlier than normal.
The Taber, Alta., grower relies on irrigation for his potato and processing corn crops and so far this year, Mother Nature has come through with timely rain, leaving him less reliant on watering from the canals.
Water rationing has been imposed in his area, but so far crops are doing well even though conditions were dry earlier.
He lived through the southern Alberta water crisis of 2001 when searing heat and drought taught farmers to better conserve water.
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“Ever since that first water rationing year, we have learned a lot about getting more efficient and with the power costs skyrocketing, we have learned to get really efficient,” he said.
New irrigation systems are built to conserve water and farmers are more diligent about water use. They also make planting decisions based on plant need and water availability.
In 2001, growers were restricted to eight inches of water per acre per season and after a later review in July it was increased to 10 inches.
This spring those relying on water from the Oldman River system are restricted to 12 inches of water until conditions change, said Jan Tamminga, operations manager for the St. Mary’s River Irrigation District.
Districts and private irrigators are affected.
Mountain snowpacks were well below normal from November to February and runoff finished about three weeks earlier than normal. River flow is normal for this time of year.
Although reservoirs are capturing lots of water, managers express caution.
“We are still in a ration mode until we get a new updated report,” Tamminga said.
Above average rainfall raises hopes.
“The rain has been a godsend down here.”
Farmers are co-operating by sharing water or moving water to the most needy crops.
For example, barley takes little moisture so water allotted for those fields could be moved to a crop like potatoes where more water is required.
“People know what they are getting so they can plan around it,” he said.
Farther north, conditions are more favourable for those relying on the Bow River, said Jim Webber, manager of the Western Irrigation District based at Strathmore.
Late spring snowstorms built the mountain pack that has not yet finished melting due to cooler weather.
“It is getting more like that every year where we wait for the late storms so we get average snow pack,” he said.
Two major rainstorms left about 75 millimetres of rain so there is little demand for water.
Crops have germinated evenly and appear to be doing well.
“It won’t be a luxurious year, but definitely an average year,” Webber said.
