Two southern Alberta rural municipalities have declared an agricultural disaster due to ongoing drought conditions.

This week, Cypress County — in Alberta’s dry southeast — announced it had declared a state of disaster. The Municipal District of Pincher Creek declared a municipal agricultural disaster last month.

In Alberta’s southeastern corner — from Medicine Hat to the Saskatchewan border — the latest Canadian Drought Monitor report, which details conditions as of June 30, says moderate to extreme drought have emerged, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s drought map shows a pocket of extreme drought in southwestern Alberta along the Rocky Mountains.

“We have producers still that are hauling water for cattle,” said MD of Pincher Creek Reeve Rick Lemire. “Dugouts were dry, our creeks dried up earlier.”

The municipality’s intakes at the Oldman Reservoir, which on Wednesday was below normal at 58 per cent of capacity, will likely be out of the water in early August, said Lemire.

But he added the situation is “not quite as devastating” as when the same thing happened two years ago. Back then, the MD of Pincher Creek ended up spending $1.5 million hauling water due to the dry conditions.

“We drilled new wells and we have that taken care of but, yeah, water is a big thing for us,” said Lemire.

The MD of Pincher Creek, which has now implemented moderate water restrictions due to declining Oldman Reservoir water levels, is also looking into adding new raw water storage, but a new reservoir would be years away, said Lemire.

Producers did get rain earlier this week, but that just put “a little greener picture” on things, said Lemire, with the ground so dry it absorbs all the moisture.

“They told us two years ago that it was a one-in-a-hundred-year drought. We’re going to be in it again here in two weeks,” he said.

Declaring an agricultural disaster could open the door for local producers to apply for relief through any government programs started in response to dry conditions, said Lemire.

Two years ago, the MD also declared an agricultural disaster.

“We’re glad we did, because it did give them the opportunity to apply for programs,” said Lemire.

In a news release, Cypress County said the latest Alberta Crop Report noted soil moisture was rated at 17.6 per cent poor and 37 per cent fair as of July 8 in southern Alberta. Cypress County says it’s usually drier than areas farther west.

“A lot of the crops are beyond help right now,” Cypress County Coun. Shane Hok said in a statement.

Cypress County has now declared a local state of agricultural disaster four times in the past five years.

“This will give (producers) the opportunity to salvage some of these crops for feed, gives them an opportunity to make decisions best financially suited for them,” said Blaine Brost, another Cypress County councillor.

“Without doing this, it kind of has their hands tied.”

Another Alberta municipality, the MD of Greenview west of Edmonton, has also declared an agricultural disaster, and some southwest Saskatchewan municipalities have made similar announcements.

In a statement, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson said plenty of challenges have been thrown at Alberta farmers and livestock producers over the past few years. He said the province knows this year has been tough, and that high input costs, localized weather events and other stresses continue to put pressure on many producers.

Declaring an agriculture disaster brings awareness to a developing situation, informs relevant stakeholders — including governments — and supports collaboration among affected producer groups, said Sigurdson.

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“I know this season may bring significant challenges,” he said. “My ministry will continue to monitor the situation and remains focused on supporting producers as needed.”

Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation recommends producers explore Agriculture Financial Services Corp.’s business risk management programs, which Sigurdson said “help producers stay prepared and resilient in the face of uncertainty.”

The minister added the federal, provincial and territorial governments have also extended the enrolment deadline, to July 31, for the AgriStability program, which provides protection against income declines.

Source - https://calgaryherald.com