SRIG 24-86: What dry farming methods are most effective for building drought resilience on Vancouver Island and Gulf Island farms?

What was the issue being addressed?

In recent years there has been increasing summer drought, water stress, and related production challenges across BC. This along with ongoing barriers to water access lead to Naomi Robert and Stephanie Jacobs planning and hosting a farmer dialogue on drought in 2023 with the assistance of a previous SIRG grant. The intention of this dialogue was to document the scope and scale of drought impacts for local farmers and to record farmer priorities for research and extension. One of the things that came out of that meeting was interest in whole-farm approaches to drought resilience and innovative strategies that can build on current best practice, so we developed this dry farming research and extension program with local farmers and partners on the island. Dry farming is the process of farming with little or no supplemental irrigation. There has historically been relatively little information available on the suitability of the soils of Vancouver Island to dry farming.

Provide a brief, lay description of the work undertaken/initiative.

Climate change intensifies drought conditions, reducing yields and degrading soils. This project aimed to enhance dry farming knowledge on Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands through research to explore site suitability, variety trials, and soil moisture preservation techniques (mulching, crop spacing). ISFS worked with farmers to trial dry farming common market garden crops. Farmers successfully grew several varieties of tomato, squash, and dry beans without supplemental irrigation at three sites in and around Southern Vancouver Island using dry farming practices. Soil moisture sensors confirmed that sufficient moisture was present in the soil at these sites to mature crops. Variability in yield between sites and varieties indicates the need for additional research to improve place-based dry farming practices, advance soil moisture conservation, and climate change adaptation. The study culminated in a field day at each site where locals could discuss findings and lessons. 

What is the expected impact this project will have on the community?

Through the various pieces of this project, the local growing community is gaining valuable insight into the how, why, who, and what of dry farming. This project has brought dry farming into the Vancouver Island growing lexicon and made a number of individuals, groups, and farmers more aware of the options when faced with the increasing droughts that will inevitably continue in this region. Through the newsletters, the greater public is able to access information on dry farming. Through the field days, many people were able to gather, network, learn together, and make future plans to build resilience against climate change and drought. In the tail end of the project, researchers are putting together a resource for growers to determine their own site suitability, crop planning, and figuring out how to implement dry farming themselves.