Grainswest - Winter 2022

Winter 2022 grainswest.com 27 I t came without warning. Prairie farmers were dealt the environmental version of poker’s 7-2 off-suit: drought conditions not seen in 20-plus years and a heat dome, which may become agriculture’s word of the year for all the wrong reasons. With few exceptions, the growing year was generally poor across Alberta. Most had no choice but to face the punishing conditions head on. While many farms did not even produce half what they did in 2020, there were bright spots and farmers try to remain stalwart with optimism in 2022. OF THE MOMENT Agriculture assesses fallout from the worst growing season in two decades BY TREVOR BACQUE ILLUSTRATIONS BY MATT SHIPLEY