N.S. crops withering in dry conditions, hitting farmers in the pocketbook

Allesondra Roddick usually has an abundance of produce that Nova Scotians like to serve at their tables: yellow beans, tomatoes, peppers, rhubarb, cucumbers and more. 

But this season, the Pictou County farmer says many of her crops are simply not producing anything at all due to the extremely dry conditions. 

The co-owner of My Grandfather's Farm in Westville, N.S., said the irrigation pond the farm normally relies on has barely more than a centimetre of water in it. By comparison, when it's full, she can swim in it, she said.

They had also used a well to water their orchard about once a week since July 1, Roddick said.

"But it dried up about two weeks ago. So really, lots of stuff hasn't had a drop of water in about a month now."

That's costing her thousands of dollars in lost sales, she said, to the point her partner has had to take a job outside the farm to help sustain the family. 

And they're not alone. Many farmers in the province are struggling to deal with the lack of significant rainfall and its impact on their livelihood.

Trevor Hadwen, a specialist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, says Nova Scotia is experiencing moderate drought conditions, with some pockets in the central region enduring severe drought conditions. The conditions are so dry that the province has put in place bans on open fires and hiking and the use of vehicles in woods out of concern for wildfires. 

Hadwen said Nova Scotia has seen droughts in the past, citing the summer months of 2023, 2020 and 2016, so he would not call this prolonged stretch of dry weather unprecedented.

But he said it is still putting farmers in a difficult position. 

Alicia King, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, said while the organization doesn't have exact numbers on the losses farmers are incurring due to the conditions, she is very concerned about what she is hearing from them.  

"I think we're safe to say most of the farmers that are around the province today, this is probably one of the first times that they've experienced drought quite like we're seeing it today."

Irrigation systems are the only thing keeping some farmers' crops alive, King said, but not everyone can rely on that since water sources are drying up.

King said many farmers are losing money and she hopes people continue to support them as much as possible during this challenging time. 

"We always hear those words, like farmers are resilient, we can bounce back, we'll try it again next year, and all of those sayings," she said. "But those, those get hard on the heart, one might say, after a little bit."