Future of agriculture in Alberta faces many challenges

The future of agriculture is as cloudy as producers wish the skies were.
Statistics Canada released its five-year agriculture census on Wednesday, and while it shows some positive growth indicators for the sector in Alberta, there are also some major challenges.

Agriculture has a long-term future problem amid a growing global demand for food.

The average age of a producer in Alberta has gone up 1.4 per cent to 56.5 years old. There are almost twice as many producers over the age of 55 (35,515) than under (21,680) — in fact, there are only 5,115 producers across all sectors under 35, a gap that has increased in the past five years.

“Farming is not an easy job, you have to be wearing a lot of hats,” said Tara Sawyer, chair of the Alberta Barley Commission. “To me, it takes a special sort of person and mindset that makes a really good farmer that cares about farm stewardship and understands the business side. It’s a high risk for entry, the high land value, the high cost of equipment, the high cost of inputs.”