Severe drought in western Canada will put pressure on the food industry and raise prices: experts

As parts of Canada continue to suffer from what some areas have described as the worst drought in the past 20 years, a new report points out that record-breaking temperatures have had an extremely serious impact on crop yields on farms in Western Canada.

A sort of New report Statistics Canada detailed the country’s recent crop production, noting that record high temperatures and lack of rainfall have weakened farmers’ productivity.

“These reports indicate that some crops are maturing faster than normal or that their growth is stagnant,” read the report released on Thursday.

“The longer these conditions last, the greater the negative impact on crop and hay production and ultimately on farm cash income.”

The statistical agency cited several reports from Western Canada, detailing the decline in crop conditions and yields during the record drought.

Alberta reports that only 36.6% of crops are in “good to excellent” condition, compared to the five-year average of 74.1%, while Saskatchewan stated that the report said it was “mostly” The condition of the crops ranges from poor to good.

1:3349% of Canadians believe that climate change must be addressed urgently: Ipsos poll

The Manitoba Agri-Food and Rural Initiative reports that topsoil moisture has declined and crops, hay, and pasture conditions have deteriorated at the same time.

Although the report pointed out that the weather and soil conditions in Western Canada are still different, it pointed out that farmers’ main concern about the current drought is that it is in the “worst period of crop growth”.

“For example, in rapeseed, flowering will be heat stress above 30 degrees Celsius, which will cause the pods to become smaller or aborted, the number of seeds per pod will decrease, and the final yield will decrease,” the report reads.

4:30The impact of drought in British Columbia on the ecosystem

Saskatchewan, home to some of Canada’s largest rapeseed producers, has been hit hard by the extreme heat. Due to rising temperatures, some producers began to harvest crops earlier, eventually reducing average yields.

Sylvain Charlebois, the scientific director of the Agricultural Food Analysis Laboratory at Dalhousie University, said that although this type of drought is periodic and farmers are expected to face such extreme weather every 10 years or so, this year is particularly dry and hot because of the climate. The impact of change is exacerbated.

Charlebois said that the decline in the quality and quantity of crops will have a major impact on industries from producers to consumers.

“The problem is that it affects global inventories, so buyers in Canada will face difficulties, or in the United States, they will have difficulty obtaining products, and they may have to pay more for this,” he said.

“If you look at the pictures of wheat and barley-I am actually looking at prices now-they are all much higher than last year, which means that processors will have to pay more for their inputs, and in the end all of them Will catch up with us as consumers.”

Charlebois said that shopping centers, bakeries and livestock centers will also be particularly affected by inflationary pressures caused by drought.

In December last year, Charlebois, together with Dalhousie University and several other institutions, released the 2021 Food Price Report, which outlines the industries facing significant price increases.

It is expected that overall food prices will rise by 3% to 5% in 2021, with meat prices rising by 6.5%, baked goods prices by 4.5% to 5.5%, and vegetable prices by 6.5%.

According to Charlebois, beef prices have risen by an average of 10% this year alone.

Tyler Fulton, a cattle producer in Manitoba, said in an interview with Global News last week that this year’s drought is the worst he has ever seen.

“What is really unusual is that this situation is so common-in fact, all prairies are far below normal moisture content, and we are in a severe water deficit state,” said Fulton, a farmer who has been a farmer for 14 years.

“It’s different from anything I’ve seen before, or for that matter, what my parents have seen.”

1:56Severe conditions for farmers in Manitoba

This summer, a record heat wave swept through British Columbia and the interior, exposing food producers from the west coast to eastern Ontario to face hot and dry temperatures with almost no rain.

Erin Gowrluk, executive director of the Canadian Grain Growers Organization, told global news last week that the drought is worse than they have seen in recent memory.

“Drought conditions have increased pest pressure, and we now see the entire prairie facing the challenge of grasshoppers. Farmers have to make difficult choices, either to invest in pest control or to reduce losses,” Gowluk said.

Although this year’s drought has dimmed the outlook for some food prices inside and outside Canada, Charlebois said its impact on the country was almost expected.

“To be honest, I don’t think this is worse than what we expect now,” he said.

2:12High temperature and drought have reduced crop yields, affecting Canada’s food supply

Finally, he said that we should pay attention to the global food market and how the effects of climate change will affect basic exports to Canada. For example, Brazil already reported early frosts last week, and Charlebois said this is likely to affect coffee crops.

“This is a global economy, so what happens in Canada will affect other people around the world, not just Canadians… and vice versa,” he said.

The Statistics Canada report finally provides a positive outlook for Canadian crops: If the temperature drops in parts of the country and the rainfall is relieved in time to alleviate insufficient rainfall and high temperatures in parts of the country, the situation may “still improve.”