Canadian Farmers See Silver Lining In U.S., Europe’s Drought

Drought conditions across large swaths of the United States and parts of Europe are raising concerns about a food-price shock later this year.

But while consumers brace to pay more for everything from corn flakes to bread and beef, many Canadian farmers hope to reap rewards from historically high grain prices.

“It’s simple supply and demand,” said Myron Krahm, vice-president of the Manitoba Corn Growers Association.

“The U.S. being the largest corn producer in the world, if they are suffering that just limits supply and prices in return run up.”

Farmers south of the border will see just a fraction of the corn they expected in the spring when the ground was seeded, the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned earlier this week.

That prediction sent the price of corn through the roof – up by about 30 per cent compared with just three weeks ago. Almost all other grain commodity prices are higher as well.

If the better growing conditions hold in most major regions of Canada over the rest of this month, farmers will cash in, said Mr. Krahm.

But while some farmers are seeing bumper crops, others are facing drought conditions similar to those in the United States.

Southern and Eastern Ontario are feeling it the most, said Agriculture and Agrifood Canada’s Trevor Hadwen.

“It’s not quite as bad as the U.S.,” he said.

“[But] approximately 40 per cent of the agricultural land in Ontario is in the record dry or extremely low [moisture level] category.”

That’s equivalent to about 14,000 farms facing losses from drought conditions.