We are here not much in better shape. Farmers getting hay for their stock from eastern Canada, some of them sold more than 80% of their cattle already. This report came today:
<<StatsCan issues gloomy prairie crop forecast
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Statistics Canada crop estimates
CTV News Staff
Statistics Canada says the production of most major crops in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are expected to fall this year.
Drought and plagues of insects have reduced crop production in both provinces. In some of the hardest hit areas of Saskatchewan, farmers are being forced to abandon fields altogether.
Spring wheat production is expected to dip to 4.4 million tonnes. That's a drop of 38 per cent and the lowest production level since 1970.
Barley production is also expected to fall dramatically. The 10-year average is 4.4 million tonnes, but only 2.8 million tonnes is expected to be produced this year.
Canola production is also expected to undergo a sharp drop. Statistics Canads predicts it will drop 33 per cent from last year's levels.
Still, in the southern region of the province where more favourable conditions have prevailed, results are expected to be average to above average.
In Manitoba, farmers could harvest 15 per cent less wheat than last year. The spring wheat production is estimated at 2.7 million tonnes.
Canola production is expected to register just under the 10-year average of 1.3 million tonnes at 1.2 million tonnes.
On the other hand, production of oats is estimated to jump to 1.0 million tonnes, up 40 per cent from last year. The increase is attributed to both yield and an increase in harvested area.
Overall, production is the second lowest estimate in a decade. Food banks in areas near farming communities have seen a rise in users coupled with dangerously low food stocks over the summer.
Ravaged by the third consecutive year of drought, some farmers in Alberta have been unable to earn a living. Earlier this summer, food banks in the Regina area reported a 75 per cent increase in people coming from outside the city. |
