DAWSON CREEK -- For the last two years, farmers across the Peace Region have been affected by drought conditions. They are looking for new ways to adapt to the challenges they are faced with. CJDC spoke with Ravenwood Farm livestock farmer, Bill Smith about his struggle for more water on his farm throughout the last two years.

“We haven’t had a dugout filling or runoff since May of 2022, so the water I am feeding my cows is May 2022 water,” says Smith.

Typically one of his main dugouts fills up to eight feet of water, but now it can only fill up to three feet. Once all of this water has been used, he will have to haul water to the trough manually. Despite difficulties, he works to adapt to the changes.

“I’m in the process of digging a whole lot more holes to catch every bit of water that runs through or onto my property, and I imagine a lot of people are doing the same,” Smith shares.

However, this approach is not a guaranteed fix. Smith noted how last winter’s lack of snow resulted in no runoff, and although the previous winter had some snow, the dry ground absorbed most of it, preventing runoff. Planning ahead can be challenging for farmers, especially during a time when the weather patterns are changing.

“I thought I was probably thinking a little bit ahead of the game, I’m actually behind when I look at the last few years,” says Smith.

Farmers will not see much relief from drought conditions in the near future. Armel Castellan, Warning Preparedness Meteorologist from Environment and Climate Change Canada shares what those in the Peace Region can expect to see.

“We are talking about a high-pressure ridge… really starting to dominate. If it does increasingly so at the end of the month and into September, it could be quite sunny and dry,” Castellan shares.

Although heat warnings are not likely, he says it is not impossible. The Weather Network predicts Dawson Creek will experience only two days of precipitation over the next two weeks.

In response to these challenging conditions, Smith says he explores farming practices in Australia that deal with dryland farming. He also points to organizations such as the Peace River Forage Association that help farmers find new ways to overcome weather challenges.