Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton is again urging the federal government to approve emergency money for Prairie farmers facing one of the worst droughts in decades.

During a visit to Saskatoon on Saturday, he said farmers need immediate aid, adding he has never seen the region so dry.

"Even flying in here from Calgary, just looking down at the fields, I've never seen it like that and I've travelled this country many times," he said.

The NDP began pressing the federal government for drought aid last month and Layton repeated calls for relief while he visited a farmers' market in Saskatoon.

"We now know that the farmers are going to need some bridging because it's quite clear that a very large percentage of some of the crops are simply not going to have a value this year," he said.

Layton said he's travelling across Canada to determine whether the money from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's stimulus plan is reaching the people who need it.

Rain needed most in Alberta and Saskatchewan

While southern Manitoba farmers have seen plenty of moisture this spring, much of Saskatchewan and Alberta have seen below-normal amounts of rain, resulting in delayed crops and dried-out pasture land.

Grant Bailey, a grain and cattle farmer near Camrose, Alta, one of the worst-hit areas, said in an interview Saturday the drought threatens to destroy half his canola crop.

He estimated crops in the region have received only 10 to 15 per cent of the normal rainfall amounts for May and June.

Last month, federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said there is a "full slate of programs" available to help farmers and governments can approve cash advances. He said they could also turn to the Crop Insurance Program.

Bailey said the program, supported by the federal and provincial governments as well as producers, is a definite plus for grain farmers.

"That guarantees us a certain amount of money regardless of what happens to the crop. And then you get enough money that you can go again for another year," he told CBC News.

He said for the cattle industry, however, there are not as many government safeguards.

"When I run out of grass due to the drought, I'm out of grass, and I've got to find some place to move these cows — and because the drought is so widespread this year throughout the province we don't have a lot of options."