After a year of grasshoppers and a of drought, organizers are thrilled to announce this year’s Canada Foodgrains Harvest may be one of its best.
This marks the 27th annual harvest for the local committee, says chair Albert Kramer. Since the land was first purchased by First Assembly Church, grain has been grown on it each year for the purposes of benefiting the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
“This is probably going to be one of the best crops we've had,” said Kramer. “We're running on 40 bushels an acre right now, which is coming close to a record year.”
The grain will be sold, explained Abe Janzen, the Alberta Regional Representative with Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and the proceeds will then be used to provide both emergency food assistance, and to help create long-term solutions.
“Across Canada, there are over 100 projects. Most of them are smaller than this, but in Alberta, we have quite a few that are this size and bigger,” said Janzen. The Medicine Hat harvest harvests roughly 130 acres.
“The grain that is harvested is turned into cash. The cash goes into the general fund, that is accessed by any of the 15 members of the Canadian Food Grains Bank, all of whom are engaged in one or more countries around the world.”
Canadian Foodgrains Bank is engaged in 35 countries around the world. Aid either addresses acute food shortage by purchasing local goods for distribution, or on long-term solutions via supporting farmers in the region to produce more and better food.
It was noted Medicine Hat saw a streak of good fortune, as many other harvests in the area, including Taber and Coaldale saw significant hail damage, where some fields in central Alberta never managed to seed their land due to the amount of rain at the start of the season.
“We're feeling great, and we have Western Tractor here to thank,” said Kramer. “They really stepped up. They are harvesting for us, they're barbecuing lunch for us. This entire thing relies on a lot of community partners, everything is donated, and we’re so grateful for it.”By Anna Smith, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Aug 19, 2026 at 22:15
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