Alberta crop commissions are preparing the government to expect the worst.
Team Alberta, comprised of barley, canola, pulse and wheat commissions, is shining a spotlight on an agriculture industry that has $3 billion worth of crops standing in fields because of a horrible fall harvesting season.
“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 Alberta Pulse Growers chair D’Arcy Hilgartner.
“Team Alberta is working to help ease the burden on farmers by initiating proactive discussions with government officials who are in a position to help farmers.”
As of Wednesday, only 26 per cent of canola crops and 34 per cent of pulse crops, such as beans, lentils and legumes, had been harvested. For wheat and barley, 57 per cent of crops are off the fields.
Across the province, 7.8 million acres remain unharvested.
Alberta Barley chair Jason Lenz said farmers need to know what will be done.
“Farmers need an early and clear indication of what the next steps might be in dealing with severely downgraded and high moisture crops,” said Lenz.
“Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) needs to make prompt decisions to deal with claims and communicate information to farmers in a timely manner.”
Alberta Canola chair Renn Breitkreuz said many crops are being harvested wet, which adds to costs for those who have drying or aeration equipment.
So much crop is coming in wet that some grain buyers with drying capacity are at capacity and not taking any more.
Much of Alberta’s wheat crop still in the field will be downgraded to feed — resulting in $240 million in milling quality losses, said Alberta Wheat Commission chair Kevin Bender.
“We remain hopeful farmers can get back to harvesting soon but 2018 will be a major hit to the bottom line,” said Bender.
Team Alberta said resources are available to help farmers. “Six Things You Can Do to Stay Resilient this Harvest Season” is available at Domore.ag. There is also help through the Alberta Health Services Mental Health Help Line at 1-877-303-2642.