Markets 
As the calendar dips further into August, a chill returns to the Alberta air — and for some, it can have them thinking about cozy sweaters, flavoured lattes and a trip to the pumpkin patch.
But with Alberta’s producers of the fulsome, fluorescent fall features getting closer and closer to their busiest time of year, their crops are looking a little… flat.
“This has been a really rough year for us,” explains Kate de Windt, co-owner of Somerset Farms in Alberta’s Parkland County.
“This is our 11th year being open to the public and we’ve never had a year like this. It’s been really difficult to navigate.”
De Windt toured Global News through some of her crop this week, and after 33 cm of rain in July alone, it can be tough to spot the pumpkins themselves. Many of them are still covered by the leaves of their plants.
Instead of watching her pumpkins plump up, de Windt has spent most of August watching weeds grow and waiting for pooling water to dry.
Get daily National news
Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories.
“Our crops are about a month behind, and as most people in Alberta know, frost can come very easy and early,” de Windt says.
The 80-acre u-pick grows 67 varieties of pumpkins, and in a typical year, they produce roughly 25,000 fruits. They’re also the biggest factor for de Windt recouping farm costs each year.
“It’s what we use to pay for our crops next year, so when our pumpkin crop is this bad, it’s really hard on our farm.”
Money’s already been spent on the usual inputs, de Windt explains. Fertilizer, fuel and staff are all part of the investments that may not bear much of a return in 2026.
“I don’t know if I’m ever going to harvest a pumpkin this year.”
Over the past 10 years, guests at Somerset Farms have enjoyed free admission. Changing that, de Windt says, is one of the options they’re considering this season.
“We might have to order pumpkins from down south if that’s possible… we were talking about maybe hosting a pumpkin smash if everything’s rotten.”
It’s a similar story about 100 km to the northeast of de Windt, at Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm.
“We are resilient, but it does hurt. Every day we look up at the sky and it’s another band of marauding thundershowers coming through,” owner Tam Andersen says.
While they know a thing or two about pumpkins, too, the highlight for many visitors each year is the property’s corn maze.
But Andersen says they might have to enact a strict high limit this year.
“Well, our maze is varying between six inches and a foot tall,” joking it’s a “maze for minions.”
Andersen says the farm has already had to give up on their annual sunflower crop, which died earlier in the season.
“This is our 40th season having a haunted pumpkin festival and our 70th birthday here on the farm. We’ve never seen it this wet in our entire history.”
Like de Windt, Andersen hopes Albertans embrace the spirit of the season and still show up to farms like hers this fall — even if it’s not what they’re used to.
“Bring your rubber boots, put some smiles on and come have fun in the mud. Support your local farms because we really need a hand this year.”
Read the full article here
