The County of Grande Prairie has officially declared this year an “agricultural disaster,” due to low crop yields as a result of extreme drought-like conditions in the region.
County Reeve Bob Marshall says this is not the first time he’s seen a significantly low crop yield, but due to the hot, dry conditions in the county this year, producers just couldn’t keep up.
“It’s been spotty, the rain and everything has been spotty,” he says. “Our cereal crops and canola and stuff, everything now looks like it’s well below average.”
Marshall explains that declaring the local agriculture situation a “disaster” is simply a tool that will allow the county to engage with the provincial and federal government to see if some relief is available for farmers, who he says will take the biggest hit.
The Reeve says he has already been in contact with the Provincial Agriculture and Environment Ministers to see what can be done to help local producers.
“That’s going to put a strain on all our producers, financial implications and things, so this agricultural disaster that we declared, it’ll give us a chance to advocate the province for some sort of relief program,” he says. “It’s a tool that allows us to go to the province and say, hey, we’re in this situation, what can be done to help out.”
Marshall maintains that residents will not see any direct effects at the grocery store, as some parts of the province managed to hit their targets, ensuring food is still available across the province.
“Certain areas have been done very well and other areas haven’t, and unfortunately for the county, we’re one of the areas that haven’t done very well,” he says. “We’re very localized, there’s spots around Alberta that are struggling because of what weather’s done, and there’s other spots that have excellent crops.”
Ultimately, the Reeve and his council will continue to stay in contact with officials at the provincial and federal level to ensure local farmers are taken care of during this difficult time.
