Farmers face poor spring harvest after brutal fall weather in Alberta
Yields of unharvested crops likely to be smaller and of lower quality
Last fall’s wet, snowy weather has created major problems for Alberta farmers, who likely have more than one million acres of unharvested crops still in their fields.
Brian Miller, who farms 100 kilometres northwest of Edmonton near Barrhead, left 600 acres of canola in the field last year, about 40 per cent of his total cropland.
He hasn’t seen such conditions since he was a boy, he said Monday.
“The last time we had something like this, my dad had just moved out to the farm we’re at now. His first crop was 1973 … It was bad. My dad had 80 per cent of his crop left out that winter.”
Producers who waited for spring will likely see values drop by $100 to $150 an acre due to lower yields, lower quality and damage from mice, deer, moose and other animals that have had months to eat, trample and poop in fields, said Humphrey Banack, who still has 400 acres of flax in his fields 90 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
“The inability to harvest last fall was truly a challenge. We harvested a bunch of crop in November, that we have never done before, at a substantial cost,” he said.
Banack, an Alberta Federation of Agriculture board member, said he spent an extra $35 to $40 an acre last year — including $18,000 fuelling propane grain driers — bringing in the wheat, canola, barley and peas grown on the rest of his 7,000-acre operation.
The Agricultural Financial Services Corp. said more than 960,000 acres out of Alberta’s 14.7 million acres of insured crops have been reported unharvested, and the figure would be higher if uninsured crops were added.
Most of that is canola, although wheat and barley were also hit, said Daniel Graham, the corporation’s acting manager for insurance solutions.
The organization is streamlining assessment procedures so farmers with claims can have inspections done more quickly and then remove or plow under damaged crops to to make way for new seeding, he said.
Generally, everything is taken off fields by the end of October, but weeks of heavy rain and snow made many locations inaccessible or the plants too wet.
It’s too soon to calculate the value of the loss, he said.
Hard-hit areas include St. Paul, Lamont, the Peace River region, Barrhead and Westlock.
At least four counties have declared agricultural disasters, although this doesn’t automatically lead to extra provincial assistance.
In a written statement, Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier said the weather had created a challenging year for producers.
“I have asked the Agriculture Financial Services Corp. for a fulsome assessment of current conditions, for an evaluation of the corporation’s resources and a plan to expedite insurance assessments.”
Kyle Meunier, agricultural fieldman for the County of Barrhead, estimated half the county’s crops aren’t harvested, roughly 100,000 acres.
“The hard thing on farmers is they can’t pay some of their bills … If they can’t get it off the land, they will have a hard time investing in this year.”
Some people tried combining in the winter, when cold days essentially freeze-dried plants, but snow and ice can damage equipment when it melts and freezes again, Meunier said.
Other options include harvesting once the soil dries, baling the material for animal feed and bedding, or mowing it into the ground.
However, Miller is hoping part of his harvest can still be saved before seeding starts.
He brought in 16 acres of topgrade canola during good weather about a month ago.
“It was dry, it was No. 1. I was very surprised. I hauled it in right away, got my cheque and put it in the bank,” he said.
“I’m optimistic. I actually think I’m going to put canola in the bin this spring.
“Who knows what quality it might be, but salable.”