It looks like the provincial government was listening after all. On Friday, Aug.
It looks like the provincial government was listening after all. On Friday, Aug. 21, Alberta Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development Oneil Carlier declared a province wide agricultural disaster as a result of extreme weather conditions.
On Friday, Aug. 21, Alberta Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development Oneil Carlier declared a province wide agricultural disaster as a result of extreme weather conditions.
The decision comes after a number of counties including Barrhead and Woodlands County officially declared a state of agriculture disaster earlier in the summer.
Declaring a state of agriculture disaster doesn't open up an avenue of funding for municipalities or farmers, but the counties hoped the move may pressure the provincial and federal governments into action.
For the majority of the summer it seemed the Alberta government was reluctant to admit the province was in a drought or use the d-word in any form. Even though it was obvious that Alberta, and western Canada for that matter, were definitely suffering through drought conditions.
Of course, governments at every level are often reluctant to declare disasters because if they do it means they have to open the purse strings.
When asked what the government planned to do for farmers, the officials at the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) pointed towards their the various insurance programs.
Indeed, the AFSC expects to pay out close to $1 billion to the 80 per cent of Alberta farmers struggling with drought.
One billion is not a number to be sneezed at. The problem is, that even though that is a large amount of money, the vast majority of Alberta farmers are not insured. And even for those who do have insurance, it is still woefully inadequate to cover the actual losses farmers have accumulated.
Dale McQueen, during a Woodlands County meeting on Aug. 18, said in order for hay or pasture land farmers to qualify for an insurance payout through the AFSC, they would have to be basically wiped out, and even then any payout would be based on a rate well below market value.
Carlier said the declaration allows the AFSC to access re-serve funds and pay out above aver-age insurance claims more quickly.
In addition, the Alberta government announced it will be offering discounts on water pumps to fill dug-outs. The federal government announced it will also allow farmers to defer some taxes on cattle sales.
Will the actions the provincial government has taken over the last few weeks, including declaring a state of agriculture disaster, be enough to help drought stricken Alberta farmers?
Only time will tell, but the one thing we can be sure of it's going to be a rough year for Alberta farmers.
