Lack of spring moisture leaves land stressed, entering prime growing season.
StettlerLocal.com June 15 at 8:45 pm, from County of Stettler No. 6
A very light snow pack with no run-off combined with an early and extended heat wave and no moisture led Council to declare an Agricultural Disaster in the County of Stettler on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at their Regular Council Meeting.
After reviewing current conditions, as well as empty dugouts and wetlands throughout our region, Council made the serious decision to declare an Agricultural Disaster. Recent moisture maps and data for our region support this move.
“We’re seeing exceptionally large numbers of livestock being dispersed at auction marts for this time of year, and producers are contacting us to report they are out of feed, cannot afford feed and looking ahead and realizing at this point that the probability of growing feed to support their operations is very, very slim,” said Larry Clarke, Reeve for the County of Stettler No. 6. “Agriculture is a very big part of what we do here in Stettler County and of what fuels our economy and lives. We are hearing the pleas from our farmers and producers and we need to take action,” he added.
Quinton Beaumont, Manager of Agricultural Operations added, “The Alberta Government has announced some pasture programs in light of the lack of pasture due to the wildfire situation in our province. While that is not a consideration in our area, we are seeing producers putting herds out into their hay fields, with no other options at hand beyond herd dispursals.”
Relief for the agriculture industry due to drought has not been announced at this time, and Council will use today’s declaration to reach out to government to advocate for assistance and support for an agriculture industry battling drought in Alberta.
Attached is moisture mapping data for our region, provided to the County of Stettler by the Agro-meteorology Applications and Modelling Unit, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.
County Council made this declaration of Agricultural Disaster today and intends to encourage the Provincial and Federal Government to initiate programming to assist our agricultural industry and producers. The County of Stettler is the first municipality to declare an Agricultural Disaster in the Province of Alberta this year, due to drought.
County of Stettler Links