Increased irrigation allocation a welcome sight for southern Alberta farmers

As we head into planting season for farmers, those within the St. Mary River Irrigation District will see more water allocated than last year.

Farmers and producers in southern Alberta are heaving a sigh of relief as more water will be available this growing season.

The St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID) has set its water allocation rate at 12 inches for 2025, an increase from eight inches last year.

“Our situation is quite different going into this spring, which we are quite happy about,” said David Westwood, general manager of the SMRID.

“Storage is about two-thirds better than it was at this time last year.”

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The St. Mary Reservoir has a current level of 51 per cent, compared to 14 per cent this time last year.

The increase in water is a welcome sight for farmers in the district.

“We’re definitely in better shape than last year with the board deciding to bump it up to the 12 inches,” said James Johnson, with Johnson Fresh Farms located in Barnwell, Alta.

This year’s allocation was set at the SMRID’s annual general meeting on Thursday.

While the 10-year average is 16 inches, Westwood says the current allocation puts producers in a much better position than last year.

“Obviously, with additional rainfall or increased snowpack, we may be able to increase that throughout the irrigation season,” Westwood said.

While the increase is promising, it’s not the focus for farmers right now.

Johnson says increasing costs, commodities and the uncertainty with tariffs have everyone rethinking their plans on how much to plant this season.

While the support Canadian movement is great now, he says that’s adding to the uncertainty.

“It is only April right now and everybody is pretty high on that stuff, but come July and August, when it actually becomes time for us to ship and sell all of this produce, everybody could have a lot of different opinions on it if there aren’t any tariffs or if everything gets patched up between us and the states, so we aren’t sure what the demand will be in the summer,” he said.

Johnson says their operation is taking it day by day.

But Westwood hopes the increase in water will bring some comfort to an ever-changing situation.

“This is leading for more optimism leading into the 2025 growing season,” said Westwood.