Farmers feel ‘a little more positive’ regarding drought conditions this year

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The president of the BC Grain Producers Association says the drought outlook is slightly more optimistic going into this year’s growing season.

Malcolm Odermatt, a third-generation farmer based out of Baldonnel who grows canola, wheat, barley and other crops, says the 2024 growing season was difficult due to severe drought conditions.

“Last year, we were really dry,” Odermatt says. “We were at a stage-five, the highest stage of drought you can have. We had some showers go through the Peace Country, and depending on where you farmed, really, it changed how your crops did throughout the growing season.”

According to Odermatt, farmers in the South Peace, especially around Dawson Creek, struggled through a particularly hot and dry growing season.

“They missed out on a lot of the showers, so they were in a pretty tough spot,” he says.

Meanwhile, in the North Peace, experiences reportedly varied from farm to farm: Odermatt says some farmers experienced fairly typical growth while others dealt with lower yields than normal.

He says the lead-up to the 2025 growing season has been “nerve-wracking” because of political turmoil surrounding tariffs in the United States and China.

However, in terms of soil moisture, he says the outlook in the Peace region is more positive overall this year than in 2024, and even 2023, which also saw farmers struggling due to drought conditions.

“With the weather, we’re still on the dry side, but that can change all of a sudden; it can start to rain and we’ll be complaining that it’s too wet,” he says. 

“Right now, we have some moisture, we had some [more] snow this winter compared to last winter, so I think the overall feeling is a little more positive for the soil moisture. It’s just regarding the crop prices and demand; that’s a little bit more up in the air.”

The province’s latest Snow Survey and Water Supply Bulletin echoes similar sentiments to Odermatt, showing snowpack levels in the Peace region are closer to normal this year compared to 2024.