Agricultural producers face most difficult growing seasons in decades

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Sunny South News

By Heather Cameron
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Alberta Federation of Agriculture Executive Director Aaron Stein says that Alberta’s agricultural producers have faced some of the most difficult growing seasons in decades. 

“Since 2023, extreme dryness has sharply reduced yields—spring wheat in some southern fields fell to just 10–25 bushels per acre, compared with a provincial average closer to 50,” said Stein. “Reservoirs such as the Oldman reached historic lows, forcing municipalities, irrigation districts, and producers to strike province-wide voluntary water-sharing agreements for the first time in over 50 years. Strong winds added to the pressure, stripping topsoil and triggering severe erosion events across the southeast. While scattered rains in 2024 and 2025 offered relief in some areas, conditions remained highly variable: delayed planting, increased disease outbreaks including stripe rust and Fusarium, and heat-stressed crops all contributed to volatile production. Beyond environmental pressures, producers also faced serious financial risks. The 2024 collapse of multiple grain-buying companies left farmers unpaid, exposing holes in Canada’s farm safety net and threatening family farm finances. Meanwhile, weaker yields and low market prices compounded cash flow challenges. Policy responses included a new low-yield allowance under Agri-Insurance, enabling farmers to salvage poor crops for livestock feed, and enhanced AgriStability coverage with higher payout caps (up to $6 million) and compensation rates rising to 90 pe cent in 2025–26. Despite modest recovery in 2025, with average wheat and canola yields across much of the province, durum wheat and pulse crops remained sharply below normal and, in some cases, diverted entirely to feed. Overall, Alberta’s farmers have been most affected by water scarcity, soil degradation, volatile yields, and financial exposure—challenges that underscore the urgent need for resilience strategies, stronger risk-management tools, and long- term investments in water security.”

This grim situation, Stein says, has contributed to Alberta facing the highest food insecurity rate in Canada, with 30.9 per cent of residents-nearly 1.5 million people-living in households experiencing some level of food insecurity. 

“There has been a rising dependency on food banks,” said Stein.

Food bank demand in Alberta nearly doubled over the past five years- up 92.4 per cent overall, Stein says.

In early 2025, Stein stated, the Interfaith Food Bank in Lethbridge reported a 99 per cent increase in usage compared to pre-pandemic levels. In September 2024 alone, food hampers increased by 8 per cent, serving 14 per cent more individuals than in March.

Rural food bank users are disproportionately vulnerable, Stein says, with nearly 60 per cent relying on government support such as disability or pension programs and in smaller rural centers such as Westlock, food bank clients increased by over 1,100 from 2021 to 2022, especially among children and seniors.

“The cost of living in Alberta has outpaced income growth,” said Stein. “Even households with employment, including full-time jobs-are struggling to cover basic needs like housing, childcare, and utilities.”