Dry spell: Island farmers desperate for more rain

While some Islandfarmers may have breathed a sigh of relief during last weekend's rainy weather, the general manager of P.E.I.'s potato board said he hopes future forecasts call for more precipitationand lots of it.

"All areas we could actually use more rain," GregDonald said."July was so dry, the ground was so dry, we really need a couple days of overcast and steady rain that will slowly soakinto the ground."

According to Donald, while the wet weather gave a good drink to many parched crops, not all areas on the Island received rain last Sunday.

Donald said Island potato farms haven't seen nearly as much as rain as they normallyrequire to stay healthy.

"Some crops like potatoes, in an ideal world, need about 25 millimetres a week," he said.

'A critical time'

Donald added that many Island potato farmers are in full swing preparing to harvest their crops. Most crops are usually harvested towards the end of September to early October, so Donald said it is still a bit early to determine what the impact this summer's dry weather will have.

"It's a critical time for production," Donald said. "Unfortunately, we can't control the weather so all we can do is hope that we'll have ideal conditions from here on out."

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