By Connor Gunn

Province supporting ranchers during hot and dry summer

Aug 5, 2021 | 6:40 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Alberta is pulling together resources to help the agriculture industry withstand prolonged dry conditions.

Featured supports:

• The governments of Canada and Alberta, through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, recently doubled the low yield threshold to encourage Alberta grain farmers to divert additional cereal or pulse crops to be salvaged for livestock feed.
• Alberta’s Water Pumping Program provides assistance to producers in securing adequate water supplies for domestic, livestock or agricultural purposes.
• Alberta announced a 20 per cent reduction in premium costs for crop, pasture, and forage insurance earlier this year, which protects against weather-related production loss. As a result, 400 additional farmers and ranchers enrolled, almost 1,400 farmers and ranchers increased their level of coverage, and almost 230 clients re-enrolled after cancelling their insurance in 2020 or prior years.
• Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) hired an additional 21 adjustment team members in December 2020 and April 2021, bringing the total number of active adjustment team members to 119. The government has advised crop adjusters to be flexible and complete early assessments to convert crops to livestock feed.
• The federal Livestock Tax Deferral allows farmers who sell part of their breeding herd due to drought or flooding in prescribed drought or flood regions to defer a portion of sale proceeds to the following year.

Alberta’s ranchers can access programs like consistent water supply to access in order to get through the heatwave of a summer.

After Minister Devin Dreeshen, along with Premier Jason Kenney, Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon, and Associate Minister of Rural Economic Development Nate Horner toured some of the ranches facing dry conditions, they needed to “lend a hand.”

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“Alberta’s government is here for our cattle producers. We’re working with industry to identify their most pressing concerns and making sure they have the supports they need to make it through this difficult time. We will continue to support the agriculture industry in whatever way we can,” says Dreeshen.

“Alberta continues to experience a very dry summer, which is a concern for many of the province’s ranchers. Hot weather places additional stress on growing crops and water supply,” the release reads.

The province says livestock owners depend on a consistent food and water supply for their animals and without proper support, ranchers can face difficult decisions surrounding sourcing feed, securing water and selling off herds.

More on the drought for ranchers in the province can be found at alberta.ca.