Berry farms in Central Alberta have suffered in varying degrees due to the frost over the May long weekend, with some farmers losing entire crops.
Phil Trenholm, the owner and operator of the Saskaberry Ranch near Sundre, said he lost 75 per cent of his saskatoon orchard and a lot of cherries.
“My understanding is that most of the local berry farms were hit hard this spring with frost,” Trenholm said. “This year's weather has been so unpredictable. I have no idea what is coming next.”
Trenholm said the frost likely slid down the hill his saskatoon berries were on, allowing 25 per cent of them to survive, for which he was thankful. His surviving saskatoon berries were done by the first week in August. His cherries did not fully recover because of both the May frost and the hail on July 7 while his strawberries were just starting.
Duane Mertin, who owns Pearson's Berry Farm north of Eagle Hill with his wife, Debbie, said they lost all their berry crops to the frost. He also said the frost left some farms unscathed, such as those near Medicine Hat, while other farms like his sustained heavy losses.
“It was a hit and miss with the frost,” Mertin said. “We never know from one year to the next.”
However, because they also operate a bakery and are buying berries from other growers, they have been able to weather the loss.
The Saskaberry Ranch has also found a way to not be affected as hard by their lost berry crop.
“For our farm, it is pretty much understood that a few crops will not do well in any given year,” Trenholm said. “We have diversified our farm to include various fruits, vegetables, free range eggs and free range chicken to reduce our risk of having a catastrophic year.”
The dry start for this season also negatively affected berry crops, though not nearly to the same degree as the frost. This is due to irrigation systems in place that make up for poor rainfall.
“Generally, a lot of the berries in Central Alberta are under irrigation,” said John Mills, the owner of Bowden area Eagle Creek Farms, which suffered slightly from the lack of rainfall early this season. The strawberries at Eagle Creek Farms are just starting.
Mertin said Pearson's Berry Farm does not use irrigation because they are near the Red Deer River where the water table is high.
The Saskaberry Ranch, meanwhile, uses limited irrigation but relies on the rainfall for most of their crops and welcomed the June rainfalls.
“This year was a bit of a mixed bag for our fruit,” Trenholm said. “But the guests to our farm this summer enjoyed themselves and had a good time despite not having as much product as we would have liked.”
