Yet another Alberta rural municipality is facing a looming crop crisis..Wheatland County in the southeastern part of the province became the latest to declare an agricultural disaster due to ongoing drought conditions. The motion was carried at its regular meeting and went into effect as of July 5..“Low growing season moisture compounded by extended periods of extreme heat, both of which have substantially depleted our soil moisture reserves have dealt a severe blow to all facets of agricultural production within Wheatland County,” it said in a notice posted to its web site.. DroughtFarmers need rain now to save crops and feed livestock according to latest crop reports. .“Wheatland County acknowledges the crucial role our agricultural industry plays, not only for our municipality and province, but also on a national and global scale. We are committed to work with all levels of government and are optimistic that we can assist in the development and implementation of a recovery program that will effectively support our agricultural producers through this difficult time,” it added..According to the Alberta Rural Municipalities Association, declaring a municipal agricultural disaster can bring awareness to a “developing situation” that informs residents, industry and government to enable a coordinated response..Wheatland County was among 43 Alberta municipalities that declared states of agricultural disaster in 2021 leading to $340 million in relief from the Canada-Alberta Livestock Feed Assistance Initiative..On Monday, Alberta’s Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson told a beef conference in Calgary that the government is monitoring the situation and has written a letter to his federal counterparts requesting an AgriRecovery assessment..The review will determine what actions producers must take to mitigate losses and whether financial assistance is warranted..The County of Stettler became the first municipality to declare a disaster earlier this June, followed by Foothills County near Calgary and Paintearth near Hanna. Kneehill and Starland counties are also reportedly on the verge of declaring their own agricultural disasters.,.According to the latest crop report from Alberta Agriculture, southern regions of the province are experiencing the driest conditions, gradually easing to the northern and central areas..As of June 27, conditions for all crops were reported at 45% ‘good to excellent,’ which is 29% and 27% below the 5-year and 10-year averages, respectively. .The Peace region retains the highest percentage of highly rated crops at 60%, with the northeast region at 58%, followed by the south region at 42%, and the central region at 32% and the northwest at 31%.
