Pumpkin problems: Alberta’s wet summer affecting annual crop

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.

“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.

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.