June 19, 2009

Serious concerns about the effects of the weather are damping optimism among western Canadian farmers despite the buoyancy that had been created by stronger grain prices, according to a survey by the Canadian Wheat Board.

The survey, conducted in late April, showed that weather's effect on crops had emerged as a serious concern, with one in four farmers citing this as their biggest challenge.

Conditions have since grown more severe, with western Canadian production predicted to drop by 20 percent this year.

"We grow food for the world, which means our product will remain in high demand even in the midst of a global economic recession," said CWB chairman Larry Hill. "However, in the short term, most of us face major weather worries: too dry in the west, too wet in the east and a cold spring everywhere."

The CWB's 2009 producer survey showed that 60 percent of prairie farmers continue to believe that agriculture is headed in the right direction. The upbeat results are similar to last year's survey, conducted when grain prices had reached all-time highs.

While prices have since fallen off, wheat returns during the 2008-09 crop year will be the second-highest in history.

The cost of inputs such as fertilizer, fuel and pesticides continue to be the top farmer concern by far, with 52 percent of producers listing this as their biggest problem this year, above grain prices (the top concern for 36 percent) and weather concerns.

Yet worry over input costs is down markedly from last year, when 66 percent considered them a major challenge and the year before, when 72 percent listed these costs as a major problem, the CWB said.

The survey was conducted among 1,300 producers in the three Canadian Prairie provinces.