Some farmers in B.C. able to extend harvesting while others struggle with drought

The unusual stretch of warm weather and summer-like heat is allowing some farmers in B.C. to extend their fall harvest season as crops continue to grow and yield quality produce, while others, especially in water-restricted areas, are struggling with the lack of rain.

Sean Smukler, the chair of agriculture and environment at the University of British Columbia, says farmers experienced a cold and wet start to spring that delayed the growth of their crops by about three weeks, but some have been able to make up for lost time in the latter half of the season.

"The crops that are well established and just need a little bit of water in this late season are probably able to take advantage of the sunny warm weather," Smukler told CBC News.

"But crops that are more in need of water ... are really not doing what we want them to do."

Much of the province saw its warmest, driest September on record, and that weather pattern has continued into the first half of October.

Ron McMillan, the owner of McMillan Farms in Kelowna, grows about 40 different kinds of pumpkins every year and says the extended heat was exactly what they needed to yield quality pumpkins after a late spring.

"I don't have any green pumpkins this year. Everything is orange," McMillan told Chris Walker, host of CBC's Daybreak South, on Monday.

"That late heat really helped us out a lot ... and it was what we needed."

On Sunday, 16 daily temperature records were broken across B.C., as highs continued to linger around 20 C in many communities.

Late start to harvesting

Michael Kullmann, a winemaker at the Osoyoos Larose Estate Winery, says his southern Okanagan winery is usually one of the first to be picking grapes, but this year's harvest will be about three weeks later than usual.

"I was a bit nervous because we had a very cold spring ... and that meant that the whole vine was delayed, so it started growing about two weeks later than usual.

"This weather has meant for us great yield, great quality and a very well-balanced fruit, so I'm very happy."

Kevin Klippenstein, the owner of Klippers Organic Farms and Guesthouse in the South Okanagan, says he's still harvesting tomatoes, basil and potatoes and has done a second planting of sugar snap peas.

"We are usually planting carrots in July and covering them with straw to insulate them by now ... but nothing's covered with straw yet because we are still irrigating," Klippenstein told Gloria Macarenko, the host of the CBC's On The Coast, on Wednesday.

"The later part of the year here has actually brought about the summer of our dreams."

Water restrictions impact farmers

The Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and the west Vancouver Island are experiencing Level 5 drought conditions — the most severe on the province's classification scale.

Mel Sylvestre, who co-owns Grounded Acres Organic Farms in Gibsons, says some of her shallow-rooted crops like onions, cabbage and kale are already showing signs of wilting because of the lack of rain and extended summer-like weather.

"We're seeing some plants basically losing their water retention capacity, so they won't store well, and we won't be able to harvest them for selling because their quality is not high enough.

"It's a pretty significant amount that we're pulling out."

Parts of the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) have been under Stage 4 water regulations since the end of August. That includes a ban on all outdoor use of drinking water, meaning no lawn watering, no sprinklers, and no vehicle washing or filling of pools or fountains.

"We are completely without water for the last three weeks. It's getting a little bit too much for us," said Sylvestre.

There hasn't been a significant dump of rain on the Sunshine Coast since the beginning of July.

Mitigation plans

Smukler said farmers are working to "build farm resilience" to extreme weather events caused by climate change, including improved drainage and irrigation systems.

"Certainly, there are a suite of technologies that can be deployed to make the farming system more efficient terms of labour, in terms of nutrients, and those all helped build resilience as well," he said.

B.C. Agriculture Council president Stan Vander Waal agrees, adding that the government should also adopt a more sustainable water storage system.

"In agriculture, the key to success is ultimately recognizing that these climate change events are real, and they continue to happen. So, if we recognize the fact that we have surplus water at certain times of the year, the importance is to make sure we're storing that water so we can use it when we need it," Vander Waal said.

"There's this balancing act, and this is where government, from a policy point of view, can really, really can help."