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Alberta pumpkin farmers face harvest woes amid record summer rainfall
🇨🇦 Canada /Environment & Climate

Alberta pumpkin farmers face harvest woes amid record summer rainfall

From Global News · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Alberta's pumpkin farmers face a challenging harvest due to excessive summer rainfall, with crops significantly delayed and potentially damaged.
  • Farmers like Somerset Farms and Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm report that over 33 cm of rain in July has caused crops to be a month behind schedule, raising concerns about early frost.
  • The poor harvest threatens the financial stability of farms that rely on pumpkin sales to cover costs for the following year, leading to considerations of admission fees or sourcing pumpkins from elsewhere.

Alberta's pumpkin farmers are grappling with a "rough year" after a summer of relentless rain has left their crops significantly delayed and vulnerable. For farms like Somerset Farms in Parkland County, July alone brought 33 cm of rainfall, a deluge that has submerged many pumpkins and allowed weeds to flourish.

This has been a really rough year for us. This is our 11th year being open to the public and we’ve never had a year like this. It’s been really difficult to navigate.

— Kate de WindtCo-owner of Somerset Farms, describing the impact of the wet summer on her pumpkin crop.

"This is our 11th year being open to the public and we’ve never had a year like this," said Kate de Windt, co-owner of Somerset Farms. "It’s been really difficult to navigate." With crops about a month behind schedule, de Windt worries about the "easy and early" possibility of frost in Alberta. This delay impacts not only the current harvest but also the farm's financial future, as pumpkin sales typically fund next year's crops.

Our crops are about a month behind, and as most people in Alberta know, frost can come very easy and early.

— Kate de WindtExpressing concern about the potential for early frost due to the delayed harvest.

Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm, located about 100 km northeast, faces similar struggles. Owner Tam Andersen described the situation as "resilient, but it does hurt." The farm has already lost its sunflower crop and is concerned about its famous corn maze, which is currently only six inches to a foot tall. "This is our 40th season having a haunted pumpkin festival and our 70th birthday here on the farm. We’ve never seen it this wet in our entire history," Andersen stated.

It’s what we use to pay for our crops next year, so when our pumpkin crop is this bad, it’s really hard on our farm.

— Kate de WindtExplaining the financial implications of a poor pumpkin harvest.

Both farms are considering difficult decisions, such as introducing admission fees or seeking pumpkins from other regions if their own crops are unsalvageable. They hope Albertans will still support local farms this fall, despite the potential for smaller or less-than-perfect pumpkins.

We are resilient, but it does hurt. Every day we look up at the sky and it’s another band of marauding thundershowers coming through.

— Tam AndersenOwner of Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm, detailing the ongoing challenges posed by the weather.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Global News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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