Thousands of acres are still being cleared for farmland in the Peace Country of northern Alberta.
That was one of many surprises in my first-ever visit to the area.
I drove the six or seven hours north of Edmonton up to the east side of the region and saw some of the development between Fort Vermilion and La Crete.
I only saw a small part of the large Peace River region and was only there for a couple days, but I did have the opportunity to talk to a number of producers.
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Crown land is being auctioned off and there’s a strong demand even though the cost and time to clear all the trees is considerable.
I was expecting lots of cattle, but like everywhere else the beef industry has been dwindling with producers gravitating to the much better returns in the grain sector.
There was a considerable amount of hay land, but I was told that a lot of that was trucked out of the region.
I was expecting crops that were lagging in development. Instead the staging wasn’t too far behind my own crops in southwestern Saskatchewan.
Although soils are very cold in the early spring, the extremely long hours of sunlight in June push crop development.
Lack of growing season precipitation is a bigger concern than fall frost in many years.
I was expecting lots of canola and that’s certainly the case. I thought if any area was using earlier maturing Polish canola it might be the Peace region, but Argentine varieties dominate just like elsewhere on the Prairies.
I thought the wheat might be the higher yielding, lower protein types, but hard red spring is king. The wheat is destined for the export market since there is no nearby demand from large livestock operations or ethanol plants.
There’s also barley and a bit of oats and surprisingly strong acreage of field peas.
In Saskatchewan, field peas have been gravitating to the southern grain belt, but peas continue to be a mainstay in the Peace.
Although a lot of land is new to agricultural production, agriculture has a long history in the area.
Fort Vermilion is one of the oldest settlements in Alberta. Established during the fur trade era, it is celebrating its 225th anniversary.
The Agriculture Canada Research Station at Fort Vermilion was established more than 100 years ago.
Many producers have jobs or side businesses related to the forestry industry.
Lumber is on the rebound with mills reopening. The average farm size is smaller than other regions, but there are many family operations with 5,000 acres plus.
Freight takes a cut off the value of grain being trucked out and adds to the cost of the inputs being trucked in, but it’s just a part of doing business.
If you need an equipment part from the south, you need an extra measure of patience.
Producers say the production levels have steadily improved on land that has been cleared, but there’s a wide variation in productive capability and the topsoil layer is thin.
While land is less expensive than many other parts of Alberta, people still shake their heads at escalating prices and wonder what the future will hold.
This is the most northerly field crop production on the continent, and with the acreage base continuing to expand, there’s a frontier feeling you don’t find in the south.
If you love agriculture, it’s a great region to visit, at least in the summertime.
