Drought drips with farmers in Baie-des-Chaleurs drought

The quantities of rains that have fallen since July in the south of the Gaspésie are largely below seasonal normal, which means that farmers see the yield of their productions being significantly reduced.

The data collected by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) at the New Carlisle weather station indicates that there are only 38 millimeters of rain that fell in July, while the average for this sector is usually 100 millimeters.

August is even more marked by the lack of precipitation, to the point where a record could be broken.

The record to break for the month of August is in 1996, with 23 millimeters, and then […] With only 7 millimeters to date, we are in a good position to potentially classify in top 1 Records for the lowest precipitation rates for a month of Augustspecifies Alexandra Cournoyer, spokesperson at Eccc.

For agricultural producers from Baie-des-Chaleurs, this lack of precipitation is alarming.

From the 1st^is July, we received around 45 millimeters of rain when we should have received 180. The potato requires about 25 millimeters of rain per week, which we have not at all this yeardeplores Jean-François Chabot, co-owner of the Patasol farm in Bonaventure.

The lack of water ensures that the potatoes that grow are less large than normal, which also equals less yield for producers.

For a business like ours, we can talk about hundreds of thousands of dollars less.

At the Bourdages farm, in Saint-Siméon, it is mainly the crops of strawberries and corn that are most affected by the small amounts of precipitation.

We expect to have yields of perhaps 40 to 50 percent less [pour les fraises et le maïs]. […] From my memory, I fell in the last 50 years, I do not remember that it has been so dry in the fieldsevokes Pierre Bourdages, co -owner of the Bourdages farm

The presence of water in the fields

During drought, agricultural producers have the option of irrigating, but they cannot turn to this approach endlessly.

Currently, with the little precipitation, it is certain that it is necessary to irrigate. It brings our pools to be almost empty […]. We must choose our battles a little. There are plots that we do not irrigueraises Pierre Bourdages.

Agricultural producers agree that irrigation can be useful, but they argue that this technique does not necessarily bring the same results as a downpour.

It would take a good rainy day. A beautiful rain spread over a day to wet the mounds wellproclaims Jean-François Chabot.

Even if you sprinkle, it’s never like a rainadds Pierre Bourdages.

Eccc emphasizes that it is not yet possible to say that a trend is settling in.

The government organization also indicates that the different sectors of the Gaspé each have its own reality and that it is the southern part which was the most affected by drought and heat this year.

In general, the north of the Gaspé peninsula is closer to climatic normalgives as an example Alexandra Cournoyer.

The episode of drought may still last a moment, because no major precipitation is planned in the coming days.

According to a report by Isabelle Larose