Stettler Council made the declaration on June 14
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Councillors in an Alberta community have declared an agricultural disaster.
On June 14, Stettler County Council made the declaration after weather conditions dating back to the winter forced their hand.
“A very light snow pack with no run-off combined with an early and extended heat wave and no moisture…,” are the reasons Stettler County cited in a June 14 press release.
Stettler is the first municipality in Alberta to declare an agricultural disaster this year due to drought.
Around this time in 2022, four communities – Cypress County, Cardston County, Taber and Willow Creek, had already made similar declarations, according to Agricultural Service Boards.
Counties declare agricultural disasters as a tool to make the provincial and federal governments aware of what’s happening in that community. These local declarations don’t unlock emergency funding programs.
That only happens if the provincial government makes an ag disaster declaration.
Rural Municipalities of Alberta published a guide in 2022 for how municipal governments declare ag disasters.
Stettler County is dry.
As of May 31, parts of the community are experiencing severe or extreme drought, Agriculture Canada maps show.
A severe drought happens once every 10 years and extreme drought occurs once every 20 years, the federal ag department says.
As a result of this drought, farmers are in challenging situations.
“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,” Larry Clarke, the reeve of Stettler County, said in a statement.
Rain is in the forecast, however.
Stettler County could see thunderstorms on Saturday and receive about 10mm of rain on Sunday.
And June 20 could bring with it about 4mm of rain, The Weather Network says.
Farms.com has contacted Minister Sigurdson’s office about Stettler County’s declaration and if the province is ready to provide support.