Alberta crop yield at 5-year low after extreme weather - Action News
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Alberta crop yield at 5-year low after extreme weather

The latest provincial crop report says this year's harvest in central Alberta is likely to be 25 per cent below the five-year average.

Double whammy of drought, hailstorms blamed for 25% drop in harvest

A farmer's field near Leduc shows the impact of the hot, dry weather. (Rick Bremness/CBC)

The latest provincial crop report says this year's harvest in central Alberta is likely to be 25 per cent below the five-year average.

The main culprits have been drought in the spring and early summer to hailstorms later in the growing season.

James Wright, withthe Agriculture Financial ServicesCorp. inLacombe,says it doesn't much matter how much it rains now thedamage has been done.

An infestation of grasshoppers has added to the woes of Alberta farmers who are already dealing with drought. (Terry Reith/CBC)

He believes this year's yield will fall considerably short of thebumper harvest of 2013 a growing season with moderate temperaturesand ample rainfall.

This year, conditions have teetered between prolonged periods ofdrought and extreme rain, while temperatures have fluctuated frombelow to above average.

Wright is hoping for a more moderate climate for the rest of thesummer to allow crops to gradually ripen.