The outlook is dire for Canadian agricultural producers..2021 was a year for the record books as Western Canada experienced one of the worst droughts in recorded history. The growing season started off with optimism, as rainfall and growing conditions were ideal throughout Saskatchewan and Alberta. By mid-June however, a record heatwave hit Western Canada that cooked the crops at their most critical growth stage. The intense heatwave persisted until late July with no precipitation. Once the harvest was completed in September, Alberta producers were left with the lowest yields they’ve seen in decades. .The drought not only affected Canada, but also the key agricultural areas of the United States, along with the main growing regions of Russia, China, and the Ukraine. This has left the world with record low grain reserves and skyrocketing commodity prices. It was bittersweet to the farmer to see such high grain prices this fall, but little to no grain to deliver..Cattlemen saw average fall calf prices, yet there were record-high beef prices at the grocery store. Today we are experiencing the highest grain prices in history, with most crop prices two to three times higher than normal. For the past few years, China has been purchasing large amounts of grain due to increasing demand and world shortages. Barley — which is mainly used for feeding cattle and making beer — has become very scarce, which forced the feedlots to purchase corn in large quantities from the United States. .Thanks to supply chain challenges as a result of COVID-19 pandemic measures and other weather-related issues, crop input prices have doubled and in some cases tripled throughout the world. Fertilizer, fuel, seed, and herbicide are in short supply and many producers who have already been hit with poor crop yields resulting in record low crop income will be forced to reduce the amount of fertilizer and herbicide they use for the 2022 crop season..Feed supplies for our livestock producers are also at record lows thanks to the drought, and the producers who need to buy more feed to get through the winter are forced to pay extremely high prices. To make matters worse, the Trudeau government is proposing to reduce farm applied fertilizer emissions by 30% by the year 2030, which will have a serious negative impact on crop yields. .Looking forward to next year in Western Canada, it will be critical to see some moisture return to the prairies. There are water bodies and wetlands that have never been this dry in my lifetime. Many farms in Southern Alberta that have low producing water wells were forced to haul water in to feed their livestock this summer as the drought was severe enough to dry up many wells. If 2022 brings another dry year to the prairies it will be catastrophic to many producers who have been dealing with successive droughts year after year. If drought affects us again globally next year, we could see food shortages comparable to the depression of the 1930s..Sadly, in Canada, Agriculture has always taken a backseat in the eyes of our politicians, both provincially and federally. There has been little effort from our politicians to react to the sudden drop in our food supply. The price increase of our food in the grocery store has been alarming without a word from our government. Low-income families will be directly affected by the sharp increase in the price of basic necessities. .Many of our producers in Canada are at the breaking point financially. It is well known that farmers and ranchers always see things a little more negatively than most people, but this year the pessimism is well warranted. Let’s hope 2022 brings us more timely moisture and positive weather conditions both locally and globally. Agricultural producers are nearing their breaking point and consumers can’t afford more cost increases on basic food items..Kelly Malmberg is anAlbertan farmer in the Blackie-Herronton area
