Alberta farmers look for resiliency options despite expected tariff reduction

Alberta farmers looking for ways to diversify business after last year's droughts and tariffs woes.

Alberta farmers are expected to see some relief from tariffs soon, but many agriculture families are looking at ways to weather the storms that may lie ahead.

Canada and China struck a deal expected to reduce and remove pea and canola tariffs by March 1, and Prime Minister Mark Carney is on a trade mission to deepen ties with India, Australia and Japan, but there is still a lot of uncertainty.

That’s why some farmers are converting underperforming land into environmental habitats, including wetlands.

“There’s been a lot of setbacks in the last little while since the tariffs were in effect. It’s definitely motivated us to look into other opportunities,” said Kole Lundie, whose family operates Century Double K Farms near Lacombe.

The Lundies converted a few underperforming acres into environmental habitats in 2021 and are now looking at converting more.

“By looking at these marginal lands, we were able to economically reduce our input cost. It helps us with diversity to handle situations where the tariff situation comes in.”

Lundie grows canola and peas.

Last year, China added 100 per cent tariffs on both crops.

So, not wasting time and resources on tricky land that doesn’t grow much, and annual payments from the national charity Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) that help convert the land, make a difference.

Jordan Sinclair, ALUS CEO, says helping the environment benefits the farm.

“When we get those heavy rain events, wetlands, obviously, retain that water, slow it down, have a place for it to go, and during periods of drought, farmers have a resource where they can draw that water from for longer periods of time,” said Sinclair.

A new report from the Canada West Foundation, created following a November roundtable with members from agriculture, business and government, calls for a national agricultural strategy to reduce challenges.

“Because we’re seeing a lot of geopolitical disruptions that are making traditional markets less reliable and unstable,” said the report’s author, Stephany Laverty with the Canada West Foundation, noting supply chain bottlenecks and aging infrastructure within Canada also need to be addressed.

On March 1, China is expected to remove tariffs on Canadian peas and canola meal and reduce tariffs to 15 per cent on canola seed, but there are still challenges ahead for farmers.

“This is definitely a step in the right direction. I would like to see it back to where it was, of course, having a tariff-free environment. We still have a 100 per cent tariff on canola oil, so we do have additional work to do,” said RJ Sigurdson, Alberta’s minister of agriculture.

That’s why many farmers are also testing out new crops to make their operations more resilient.

“We’ve seen canola prices have gone up. My only uncertainty is if something happens again, how can we benefit?” said Lundie.

He is one of more than 2,100 farmers participating in ALUS.

Alberta represents ALUS’s largest footprint in the country, protecting more than 34,000 acres of critical prairie ecosystems and headwater regions.