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Drought Concerns Alleviated With Rain This Week

For farmers concerned about drought again this year, the heavy rain and even snow that hit many regions of the province this week, should help to ease some of those concerns.

There are still ongoing concerns about flooding from the storm this week, which in some places, dumped well over 100 millimetres of rain. But many experts believe that the dry parched land in parts of southern Alberta, soaked up a lot of the water and reduced the risk of overland flooding, like folks in Manitoba have seen this spring. Alberta Environment is keeping a close eye on rivers and streams across the province this week. 

At this point there are no fears of a repeat of the flood 9 years ago that swamped a big chunk of downtown Calgary along with several other communities including the town of High River. Although one weather official said if we should get a second storm like this in the coming days, then flooding could be an issue.  Several farmers on Twitter today describing the rain this week as a gift.

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Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

Video: Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

When was the last time you read the label on your honey?

We spent a day at Molenkamp Honey Farms with Michael Molenkamp, who has been keeping bees for 17 seasons and runs three to four thousand hives. In mid-September, he was finishing treatments and getting his bees ready for winter, and he walked us through how Alberta honey gets made.

Alberta has just 150 commercial beekeepers running 300,000 colonies, and together they produce 40% of Canada’s honey. Long summer days and golden canola fields give Alberta honey a light flavour that’s hard to match anywhere else.

Molenkamp calls Alberta beekeepers some of the most resilient farmers he knows. There’s plenty of Alberta honey to go around, but a lot on our shelves isn’t from here, so his ask is simple. Give the label a second look and choose honey made by Alberta beekeepers, or buy straight from a beekeeper near you.