Team Alberta providing input to Alberta government to help farmers deal with over $3 billion in unharvested crops

Team Alberta is alerting Alberta Agriculture and Forestry officials to over $3 billion in crops that remain in the field to ensure government agencies are prepared to respond promptly to unharvested acre claims and consider all options to help farmers deal with a difficult harvest.

“The conditions at this point in the fall are worse this year than in 2016 when weather caused many acres to remain unharvested in Alberta,” said D’Arcy Hilgartner, Alberta Pulse Growers Chair.

As of Oct. 10, it was estimated that the amount of harvest completed for Alberta’s major crops included: 26% of canola, 57% of wheat, 57% of barley and 34% of pulses, with approximately 7.8 million acres unharvested overall.

“Farmers need an early and clear indication of what the next steps might be in dealing with severely downgraded and high moisture crops,” said Jason Lenz, Alberta Barley Chair.

Many of the crops are being harvested wet, which is testing growers’ abilities to dry product to retain some quality considering the challenging situation and also adds additional production costs.

Resources available to farmers to help manage the added stress include Six Things You Can Do To Stay Resilient This Harvest Season at Domore.ag, and can get advice from the Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line at 1-877-303-2642.