The Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions are looking for information on how the drought of 2021 impacted prairie farmers.
Manager of Business Development and Markets Geoff Backman says they're looking to find out just what kind of impact it had on grain and oilseed producer operations.
"We're looking for responses from all prairie farmers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. For those who were heavily impacted by the drought of 2021, and those who managed to avoid the worst of the heat. By recollecting responses from across the prairies, we aim to capture how the response impacted farms in different areas. Farmers will have the opportunity through this survey to provide their input into future policy and advocacy efforts conducted by the Commission's. The results of these surveys are going to be used to help guide future decisions, and to illustrate to policymakers just how large an impact the 2021 drought was, in some regions."
The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete, and all responses are anonymous, unless the farmer chooses to provide their contact information, which is an option at the end of the survey.
Backman says the survey questions cover a number of areas, the most pertinent of which is how the 2021 drought impacted individual farm yields compared to what would be expected in a normal year.
"If the farmer indicates that a contract cancellation occurred, we do ask some questions about how this financially impacted the farm. But also look for some additional details on the cancellation process. We look to detail the time of year that they were able to get the contract cancellation completed and who their point of contact was, as well as any associated fees that came up through the process. Finally, we're also asking farmers questions about how they approached grain contract, and how the farmers' opinion on grain contract terms have changed with the after the drought 2021."
The survey is available here and will close at midnight on Friday, April 8th.
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