'Old MacDonald went broke': Technology helps grain farmers confront weather woes

Odermatt, who is also the president of the BC Grain Growers Association, has been working with his father since 2012 to farm about 2,000 acres of land in the Peace region of B.C.'s northeast. He said seeding typically begins in May and although he's worried, he hasn't yet lost hope the weather will turn around.

"It's a giant, technologically advanced industry and it needs to be treated as such … because the truth is Old MacDonald doesn't have a farm. He went broke in the '80s," she said. Hebert said crop insurance, both public and private, helps keep farmers afloat during poor yield years. The federal Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement that it"is investing in climate change research and targeted initiatives to support farmers and the agricultural sector."

However, Newman said the programs are a"patchwork quilt" of resources that don't meet all research and development needs. "Sometimes you want to push the envelope and do something that's too early for industry and other countries just simply have an advantage if they can tap that kind of money and we can't."

Swinging weather conditions have already devastated the wine crop in the Okanagan as well as cherries, peaches and other stone fruit. "We have to work with the weather. The sun has to shine, the rain has to fall and the wind has to blow," he said."A lot of farmers are concerned, but we're optimistic that everything will average out. Maybe suddenly the taps will turn on and we'll get caught up on all the moisture we've missed out on for the past year, but no one knows what the weather will be doing.

Fraser said grain is sold in the international commodity market, which"spreads out the risk of crop failure."

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