Westlock County has officially declared a State of Agriculture Disaster as a severe moisture deficit hits local farmland.
At the Aug. 12 regular council meeting, Kendra Kozdroski, the County’s Agriculture and Environmental Services Coordinator, asked the council to support the declaration after experiencing significant below-average moisture levels this season.
After speaking with several producers, Kozdroski and her team reported that pasture conditions have been extremely poor and unable to support minimal herd sizes. Feed production, such as hay and silage, is below normal, with some yields averaging only 10 to 25 per cent. They also found that the annual crops are rapidly deteriorating, pods are not filling and crops are burning off prematurely due to heat stress and lack of rainfall. When they did their grasshopper population study, it was well above the economic thresholds which cause significant damage to forage and field crops.
By declaring an agriculture disaster, the county may be able to receive support from the government through the Livestock Tax Deferral provision, which allows eligible producers to defer a portion of their income from livestock sales, easing some financial pressure in drought years. “So it helps to advocate for our producers, so it doesn’t mean that there is funding available automatically, it just means that we can walk in and say we do need some help potentially going forward,” says Kozdroski.
Kozdroski says that the council's recognition of the disaster shows producers that they recognize the severity of their situation and that they are advocating on their behalf. Other benefits from this declaration include strengthening the regional case for broader support, which could trigger additional programs and resources.
Westlock County will be sending out a letter to the federal Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, Honourable RJ Sigurdson, stating their declaration and requesting that the county be added as a prescribed region under the 2025 Livestock Tax Deferral provision.
Deputy Reeve Marquette complimented the Agriculture and Environmental Services team for their immediate action and care for producers in the county before moving to accept the motion. It was carried unanimously.
