Farmers get much needed bumper crop coming off of drought in 2021
The most expensive crop in Canadian history may in fact turn out to be a profitable one for Alberta producers
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Farmers’ prayers were answered this year with an above-average harvest, coming off of the worst drought in a generation and all-time high costs for inputs.
The most expensive crop in Canadian history may in fact turn out to be a profitable one for Alberta producers.
“I think there’s gonna be a lot of smiles on farmers’ faces this year,” said Jason Lenz, vice-chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission.
“It’s important for any business to have some good years mixed in with the bad, and on the farm we call this a gainer year where you actually get to gain back or recover some of your losses from last year.”
Harvest was completed weeks ahead of time, beating cooler temperatures and snow. The south region posted yields 18 per cent above the five-year average.
The central region also had a strong performance — Lenz, who farms about 2,000 acres near Bentley, said he had one of the top-three crops he has ever grown. Everything came in above average for him, though he notes farmers to the north near Rimbey were hit hard by hail.
Lenz had a strong canola crop, which was problematic in other parts of the province. Producers in eastern Alberta who initially expected upwards of 60 bushels per acre instead ended up with about half of that.
The crop report points to a bit of a roller-coaster year for canola, with a dry spring, flea beetles and cut worms, late flowering, and more dry conditions during July and August. Still, the crop performed at above the five-year average as a whole.
Lenz estimated the cost for fertilizer was three times that of an average year, while all other inputs were about double. Tom Steve, general manager for the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commission, said those costs have not come down over the course of the year and they are bracing for them to remain high.
However, due to a number of factors — including the war in Ukraine, global food shortages and weather — commodity prices remain above average, though they have fallen off from record levels in early spring.
“It’s welcome news for farmers that they’ve got a healthy crop in the bin with good quality and some pretty good pricing opportunities,” said Steve.
While this year was better, farmland remains in recovery mode after the drought of 2021. As of Oct. 11, 40 per cent of surface soil was rated as poor, 32 per cent fair, 27 per cent good and one per cent excellent.
The Calgary region received a major boost this past week with rain and a dump of heavy, wet snow, but not all regions were so lucky. Lenz said the central region missed the early fall precipitation and producers there are hoping for showers before winter arrives.
The lack of moisture is a concern for some cattle producers when it comes to dugouts not being full and available pasture land into next spring.
“I’m just hearing some reports of soil testing being done and not much moisture evident at the bottom of those soil testing probes. So that’s a concern,” said Steve. “There are a few storm clouds, and one of them being we could really use a healthy amount of moisture.”
Twitter: @JoshAldrich03
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