By Curtis Galbraith

Agriculture

County of Grande Prairie declares agricultural disaster

Jul 26, 2021 | 1:24 PM

The drought conditions have led the County of Grande Prairie council to declare an agricultural disaster.

The County says in a news release the dry conditions have reduced yields and that this is the fourth straight year of difficult conditions for farmers.

“County Council recognizes that these drought conditions are causing hardships for our agricultural community across the region,” says Reeve Leanne Beaupre in a news release from the County.

“Through this declaration, Council wishes to bring attention to the devastating conditions impacting crop and livestock producers and request more support for them.”

That same release says rainfall has been half that of a typical year. Hay crop yields are 20-30 per cent of normal, barley crops are in poor condition, and the canola and wheat crops are only a little better.

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“The effects of a difficult growing season are felt across our communities,” adds Beaupre in that same release.

“The County is joining other municipalities across Western Canada with this declaration in the hope that the Provincial and Federal governments will take a collaborative approach to supporting the industry and individual producers.”

A similar declaration was made in 2019 because of wet conditions. The wet fall meant a lot of the crop had to stay out over winter and farmers had to finish harvesting while also seeding the 2020 crop.