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Nova Scotia farmers are enjoying a rebound in crop yields after timely late summer and early autumn rainfall, but high diesel fuel and production costs are squeezing margins and pushing up food prices.
Nova Scotia farmers are enjoying a rebound in crop yields after a rainy late summer and early autumn, following a record-breaking drought in 2025 that wiped out many crops and nearly put some farmers out of business.
Josh Oulton, who runs Noggin's Corner farm market in Wolfville, N.S. , said the recent rains have made a major difference. This year we had good rains in September, and no hurricanes, said Oulton. Last year's drought was so severe that it forced many blueberry buyers to look beyond Nova Scotia for supply, according to Dalhousie University professor and food researcher Sylvain Charlebois.
Blueberry Recovery After Severe Drought
Charlebois said the drought was so severe it forced many blueberry buyers to go elsewhere beyond Nova Scotia and to other places. He noted that when farmers lose customers, it is not just for one year, but several years, and that is a big problem for farmers. This year, timely late summer and early autumn rainfall has allowed crops to recover.
Oulton said all crops did well, with good bean crops, good corn crops, and fields still full of great vegetables. He added that they had forgotten how much an apple will size up in the month of September if it has adequate rain like they received. CTV Atlantic chief meteorologist Kalin Mitchell said Prince Edward Island and the central and eastern parts of Nova Scotia received the most rainfall in late summer.
There was major and destructive flooding, especially in Cape Breton, but in other areas the rain had a restorative impact on the soil and many farming fields during the growing season. Most of the Maritimes saw near-to-well-above average amounts of rain for September this year, said Mitchell.
Rainfall Helps Nova Scotia Crops
However, it is not all good news for farmers. As they continue to recover from the drought of 2025, they are also dealing with the high cost of diesel fuel. Escalating overhead prices have driven up the overall cost of farming production. Oulton said it all has made our margins that much smaller.
Fuel, labour, packaging, and electricity costs are being passed onto consumers and not just in Nova Scotia. Charlebois said the price of wheat is up 42.8 per cent, soybean oil is up 31.6 per cent, rice is up 25.6 per cent, and the price of corn has climbed 20.8 per cent.
Farm Costs Put Pressure on Prices
He added that diesel costs, which are double of what they were last year, are impacting the bottom line hard right now and it is impacting farmers and their margins, which will also impact consumers. Oulton said the prices of the food he grows and sells have also increased, but he is hopeful that a healthy growing season this year with a bumper crop could be the first step towards seeing prices return to lower levels in time for 2027.
CTVNews 
CTVToronto:A rainy late summer and early fall is good news for Nova Scotia farmers 
CP24:A rainy late summer and early fall is good news for Nova Scotia farmersThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Nova Scotia Farming Drought Recovery Crop Yields Diesel Costs Food Prices Crop Yields Rebound 2025 Drought Recovery Diesel Fuel Costs Food Price Increases
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