After a disastrous season for farmers, Brazeau County has declared a state of agricultural disaster for the second time in just over two years. At a meeting earlier this week, the county council voted unanimously to declare the emergency. Brazeau County, 160 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, includes the town of Drayton Valley, the village of Breton and eight hamlets. County Reeve Bart Guyon said the harvest has been so poor that council didn't have a choice. "According to some regional information, it's around 75 per cent that hasn't been harvested," he said. "The crops are actually amazing but they are all flat, and underneath that flattened crop is two inches of water. We've got guys that are coming in that would never come in and ask for help, and that's kind of what's going on. "We need a perfect scenario," Guyon said. "We need about two weeks of solid warm, dry weather followed by some frost. The quality of the crops is certainly going to go down the longer it stays in the field. But even bad feed is better than no feed." Recent years have been tough for the county, which experienced drought last year. The county last declared an agricultural state of disaster in July 2015. In 2001 and 2002, Guyon said, the county refunded farmers taxes to keep them going.

'A real heartbreaker of a year'

Oneil Carlier, minister of agriculture and forestry, said in a statement the weather has impacted farmers across the province. "It's been a real heartbreaker of a year," Carlier said. "We understand the wet and snowy conditions are delaying harvest and having an impact on the quality of crops in many parts of Alberta. "The wet harvest season has been challenging for our farmers, including in Brazeau County. Producers are concerned that they will not be able to harvest until spring. Our government is committed to supporting our farm families and we take this issue seriously." The province will provide Alberta farmers with help through the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation, Carlier said. AFSC helps farmers, and other agriculture related businesses, with loans, crop insurance and farm income disaster assistance. Declaring an agricultural state of disaster allows Brazeau to ask the provincial and federal governments for disaster recovery funding. Guyon said things are so bad in his county that standard crop insurance won't cover farmers' losses. "There's lots of little quirks with insurance that doesn't necessary work out. They sometimes give you a bit of pain with this fall, and then they have to wait until you see what you get harvested in the spring time. And in the meantime, the bills don't stop coming in."