By Canadian Press

Cannabis farmers forced to react as heat, wildfires take their toll on crops

Jul 2, 2021 | 8:18 AM

SALT SPRING ISLAND, B.C. — Canadian cannabis farmers say the extreme heat and wildfires hitting the west coast have them on high alert and are pushing them to change their growing processes.

The co-founder and chief executive of B.C. cannabis company Good Buds says he has had to shift his Salt Spring Island farm’s watering schedule to the evening because of the heat.

Tyler Rumi and his crew now wake up at 2 a.m. to tend to the farm because the water was evaporating too quickly when they stuck to their regular 9 a.m. irrigation schedule.

As soon as the heat wave hit, Rumi noticed staff become more nervous about the plants and began working on pulling out any weeds that will suck up water meant for the cannabis.

Heat warnings have been in effect recently in B.C. and Alberta, large parts of Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and a section of Yukon as temperatures reached 40 C in some areas.

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Sixty temperature records were topped in B.C., including in the Village of Lytton, where an all-time Canadian high was beat when the mercury hit 46.6 C and wildfires began spreading.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2021.

The Canadian Press