The history of the agricultural system in Alberta: The berry and honey industries

Aleksandra Tymczak studies the honey and berry industry in Alberta’s agricultural system. Here, she provides a brief historical scan of the two industries and Alberta’s agricultural system in general

The beginnings of the agricultural industry in Alberta

“First immigration, then ranching, then cultivation of the land. That was the progress of agriculture in Alberta before the turn of the century” (Swindlehurst, 1967, p. 9). The initial wave of settlement in Alberta began in the 1870s, with cattlemen and ranchers migrating from the United States and later from Ontario and the British Isles. These cattlemen were skilled in calving and branding, drawn to the unutilised grasslands of the prairies and the low taxes on pastureland. ⁽¹⁾ This wave of settlement was further accelerated starting in 1871, when provision for quarter sections of land (with a CAN$10 fee and a 5-year residency requirement) was made available for immigrant homesteader entrants. ⁽¹⁾

With the initiation of this new policy, immigration to the prairies surged, leading to the growth of the agricultural industry. By 1887, the province had reported 90,000 head of cattle, 18,000 sheep, and 8,000 horses as part of the agricultural industry. In 1888, it was determined that the number of cattle was sufficient to meet the needs of the country, with a surplus of 4,500 cattle exported to Europe. This trend continued until, by the turn of the new century, Alberta became synonymous with cowboys and cattle. ⁽¹⁾

As the ranching industry continued to expand in southern Alberta and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the northern and central regions of the province were the heart of the fur trading industry. This fur trading sector was the catalyst for the growth of agriculture in these regions of the province. ⁽²⁾ In 1779, Peter Pond, a fur trader stationed at a post near Lake Athabasca, became the first to cultivate the soil here by establishing a vegetable garden. Alongside fur traders who farmed the land for their own sustenance, pioneer missionaries significantly contributed to the agricultural development in the northern and central parts of the province. ⁽¹⁾ Missionaries in Lac la Biche, Lac Ste. Anne, and St. Albert cultivated the land to grow grains (wheat, barley), vegetables, and potatoes to provide food for the communities they were settling in. ⁽²⁾

In the 1900s, settlers began to immigrate in greater numbers to the northern and central regions of Alberta, including Sturgeon County north of Edmonton, Stony Plain, Morinville, Villeneuve, Red Deer, Vegreville, and Lloydminster. These settlers arrived from Europe (Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, Great Britain), the United States, and eastern Canada (with individuals of Irish, Scottish, English, and French descent). ⁽²⁾ As a result, in 1898, Alberta reported 31,348 acres of spring wheat, 38,946 acres of oats, and 8,742 acres of barley, totalling 416,000 acres of crop area. ^(1-2) This trend continued with the expansion of immigration and colonisation policies at the turn of the century, which granted 40,000 homesteads between 1901 and 1905. ^(1-2)

The beekeeping and honey industry in Alberta

The origins of beekeeping and honey products in Alberta can be traced back to the late 1800s, when Charles A. Henderson introduced the first colonies of honey bees after settling in St. Albert in 1881. ⁽³⁾ In the following decades, Gladys E. Muttart was acknowledged for bringing honey bees to the central Edmonton region in 1906. A transition occurred in the agricultural system after the First World War due to a sugar supply shortage. Consequently, the demand and market price for honey increased, reaching up to 25 cents per pound. ⁽³⁾

Institutions related to the honey commodity began to emerge, including the official establishment of the beekeeping industry by the provincial Department of Agriculture and the implementation of the Bee Disease Act in 1924. Under these institutions, beekeepers were legally required to register with the provincial Department of Agriculture and pay a fee, the same requirements that are still upheld today. ⁽³⁾ Furthermore, the first provincial apiarist and apiary inspectors were appointed in 1929 in response to the increasing number of registered beekeepers and the rise in honey production. (3)

Another institution that emerged during this timeframe was the demonstration apiaries at the Lacombe and Beaverlodge Dominion Experimental Farms. These demonstration apiaries were responsible for the generation and dissemination of knowledge related to pollination, wintering practices, and honey bee diseases. ⁽³⁾ They are also credited with the indirect expansion of beekeeping and honey production within the Peace River District, due to the efforts of individuals such as Dr. W.D. Albright at the Beaverlodge Dominion Experimental Farm. ⁽³⁾

Other institutions emerged within the agricultural system related to the organization of the beekeeping and honey production industry and market access within the system. The Alberta Beekeepers Association was the first such institution to be established in 1933. Since its inception, it has been involved in the procurement of production supplies, colonies, and queens for its members. ⁽³⁾ In 1940, cooperative marketing organizations began to emerge to provide a market channel for smaller-scale commercial beekeepers who lacked an established market to sell their honey. ⁽³⁾ The first honey processing unit opened in 1942 and was run by the Alberta Honey Producers’ Co-operative and the Southern Alberta Dairy Pool. ⁽³⁾ The establishment of this institution shifted processing practices within the honey industry. Honey was now predominantly commercially produced and sold in bulk containers through various processing cooperatives, rather than in retail-sized containers at local markets. ⁽³⁾

Overall, the first record of beekeeping and honey production by the Provincial Department of Agriculture indicated that there were 200 registered beekeepers, 4,150 registered colonies, and an average of 95 pounds of honey produced per colony in 1928. ⁽³⁾ The majority of these registered beekeepers and colonies were situated in the Lethbridge area, with only 13 registered beekeepers and 146 registered colonies found in the Edmonton area or northern Alberta. ⁽³⁾ A decade later, in 1938, the records noted 1,090 registered beekeepers, 15,000 registered colonies, and an average of 161 pounds of honey produced per colony. ⁽³⁾ By 1947, there were 9,500 beekeepers registered along with 77,000 colonies before several significant shifts in the agricultural system were observed during the 1950s. ⁽³⁾ The number of beekeepers began to level off while the number of colonies continued to increase, leading to the development of the commercial industry and specialization in honey production within the province that persists today within the agricultural system. ⁽³⁾ The second significant shift observed in the agricultural system was the increase in beekeeping operations in northern Alberta, particularly in the Peace River area, while a decline occurred in southern Alberta. This shift has been attributed to the reduction in nectar-producing land (such as sweet clover and fireweed acreage) and the overcrowding of irrigated land in the southern regions of the province. ⁽³⁾ Simultaneously, in the central and northern parts of the province, clover and alfalfa acreages were on the rise, alongside rapeseed (or canola) acreages, which were most suitable for northern Alberta. Consequently, by 1965, the number of registered colonies surged to 50,000 from just 5,000 in 1950.⁽³⁾ This rapid increase and the shifts within the agricultural system led to 60% of all beekeepers in Alberta being located in the Edmonton area and northern Alberta by 1980, in comparison to just 7% in 1928 at the start of the beekeeping industry. ⁽³⁾

Currently, Alberta is the largest honey-producing province in Canada, accounting for 40% of the country’s production, with an average yield of ten thousand tonnes each year. ^(4-5) The unique sensory characteristics found in Alberta honey, such as its mild flavour and light colour, have consistently made it a highly sought-after commodity in international export markets as well as local Canadian markets. ^(4-5) Furthermore, the intensification of crops within the agricultural system renders the province of Alberta a desirable geographical location for beekeeping and honey production, thanks to the extensive areas of nectar-producing farmland that yield an average of 200 pounds of nectar per hive. ^(4-5)

The berry and horticulture industry in Alberta

The earliest forms of berry production within the agricultural system in Alberta date back to the early 1880s, coinciding with the first settlements on the prairies. ⁽⁶⁾ Several varieties native to Alberta were discovered, including raspberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries, saskatoon berries, cranberries, and blueberries. ⁽⁶⁾ Fruit breeding and improvement began in 1945 with the establishment of the Prairie Co-operative Fruit Breeding Program and other institutions, including the Provincial Horticultural Station in Brooks, the Rocky Mountain House Native Fruit Station, and the Experimental Farms located in Beaverlodge, Lacombe, Lethbridge, Fort Vermilion, as well as the University of Alberta. ⁽⁶⁾

Breeding efforts and knowledge generation primarily focused on developing varieties with desirable hardiness, disease resistance, and tenderness. Initial breeding work paid particular attention to strawberries and saskatoon berries instead of raspberries, currants, and gooseberries due to the province’s growing conditions and satisfactory yields. ⁽⁶⁾ These growing conditions and satisfactory yields were affected by persistent viral diseases found on native raspberries and mildew, as well as fruit insect pests (aphids and red spider mites) on currants and gooseberries. ⁽⁶⁾

In addition to breeding efforts, these institutions generated extensive knowledge related to horticultural practices, such as irrigation, the cultivation of cover crops, mulching, winter References protection methods, windbreaks with shelter beds, and pruning. ⁽⁶⁾ Furthermore, these institutions played a significant role in the increase of home fruit orchards on farmland and municipal properties. This has been attributed to the establishment of demonstration orchards throughout the province, starting in 1938. ⁽⁶⁾ Thus, enhancing the productivity and number of home fruit orchards became a central priority within breeding research for the knowledge-generating institutions, alongside the extension actors within the agricultural system. ⁽⁶⁾

Historically, berry production has seen limited commercial growth within Alberta’s agricultural system. ⁽⁶⁾ This has been a direct consequence of the absence of bred varieties that are suitable and adaptable to the province’s growing conditions, low yield production, and inadequate pest and disease resistance. Additionally, high picking costs linked to a lack of mechanisation, low consumer demand for specific berry varieties such as currants and gooseberries, and the restricted availability of commercial processors to produce value-added products like jams and jellies. ⁽⁶⁾

Traditionally, strawberries have always been the most popularly grown berry variety in Alberta, followed by red raspberries, with a dense concentration of production in the Edmonton central area of the province (approximately 40 acres in the 1980s). ⁽⁶⁾

References

1. Swindlehurst, E.B. (1967). Alberta agriculture: Historical review. The Alberta Department of Agriculture.
2. J. Ross and Associates. (2011). History of agriculture in Strathcona county: Early farming. Retrieved from https://www.strathcona.ca/ files/files/rpc-history-of-agriculture-earlyfarming.pdf
3. Murrell, D.C., MacDonald, D.N. (1982). The Alberta beekeeping manual. Alberta Agriculture.
4. Government of Alberta. (2023). Farm status. Retrieved from https://www.alberta.ca/farmstatus#jumplinks-0
5. Statistics Canada. (2023). Production and value of honey. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3210035301
6. Western Canadian Society for Horticulture. (1986). Development of horticulture on the Canadian prairies: An historical Review (H.S. Fry, Ed.) (Second Edition). Alberta Horticultural Association.
7. Tymczak, A. (2025). Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Alberta’s Small-Scale Agricultural Sector: Pathways for New Entrants, Knowledge Transfer, and Institutional Barriers [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Alberta.

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