How many shades of green can one discover as you cross the Canadian prairies at this time of year?
I gave up counting as greens in fields turned from vibrant Irish green to a deep, almost black-green. This may be the best time of the year to cross the prairies, as winter snows and spring rains have caused everything to germinate and grow.
All the fields were green. Even the badlands were green. One can tell how far along crops are from the size of the plants growing, and the yellow blossoms of Canola are spreading carpets of flowers across huge swaths of land.
This is the green economy that is often an afterthought in Canada and even in the Rainy River district. Canadians look to the industrial might of the auto industry and manufacturing. Canadians look at the liquid gold flowing from the oil and gas wells of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Canadians see the mining of minerals and metals as valuable.
Heading east, we witnessed long rolling oil pipelines bound for refineries. They were outnumbered by hundreds of grain cars heading east to Thunder Bay. An equal number were headed to Canadian ports on the Pacific. Across the prairies, grain trucks were raising dust across hundreds of miles of back roads, moving grain from farms to Inland terminals. Large herds of cattle roamed open fields across the prairies that were not planted with crops.
From the late 1800s through the mid-twentieth century, agriculture dominated Canada’s economy and was the largest employer in Canada. Today, the farm economy across Canada generates $150 billion in GDP. Agriculture and the agri-food industry are the foundation of the Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba economies, generating approximately $55 billion annually in farm revenues. The three provinces account for over 70 per cent of Canada’s farmland and over 50 per cent of farm revenues.
Canola is the biggest revenue producer for Western Canada. Shipping oil, seed and meal brings in $14.3 billion in revenue to Canada. Canada is one of the world’s top wheat exporters, and farmers seed approximately 26.7 million acres annually, spanning spring, winter and durum varieties.
For consumers, there is some good news: Alberta’s cattle and calf population increased to 4,850,000 head as of January this year. It marked a 2.5 per cent increase in herd size, the first size increase since 2018. Alberta makes up the largest portion of cattle numbers in Canada.
As Canadians, we forget the impact agriculture has on our lives and our Canadian economy. A trip across the prairies in spring and summer helps make us aware of the size and breadth of our farming communities.
