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Officials with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada say they are concerned about drought conditions in the prairie regions. (Photo: Mniebuhr | Dreamstime.com)

Significant concern for drought conditions in southern Alberta

Jul 10, 2025 | 12:20 PM

An official with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says it has been a challenging summer for farmers in the prairies, and it might not get much better in the immediate future.

Agroclimate Specialist Trevor Hadwin has provided his latest drought monitor update, largely focusing on the conditions in June 2025.

He says he remains concerned about large portions of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and that what started as a promising spring quickly turned into another dry year.

Hadwin explains that many regions in the prairies typically receive the most rain in June, but this June has been “abnormally dry.”

“The drought conditions in the Prairie region have changed significantly in the past month… The southern Prairies, as well as northwestern Alberta, received very low precipitation through June, or precipitation along with hot, windy, dry conditions in this region this spring have led to the development of significant drought conditions,” Hadwin says.

Most of southern Alberta, from his analysis, has continued to deteriorate over the last month.

Some parts of the southwestern corner of the province received a decent amount of precipitation, but elsewhere in the region, crops are reaching maturity quicker than normal, with drought stress.

He adds that pastures have dried up in Alberta’s south and are not providing the feed required for cattle herds.

The Alberta Crop Report doubles down on the dry conditions in the south.

About 40 per cent of farmlands locally had “good-to-excellent” surface soil moisture ratings, as of June 30, while the five-year average is 51 per cent.

Approximately 60 per cent of crops planted in southern Alberta were considered good-to-excellent, which is around seasonal norms.

July tends to be a drier month, and Hadwin says Environment Canada describes the chance of improving precipitation in the prairies as low.

The weather forecaster is calling for a moderate probability of temperatures being above normal for the rest of July.

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