VOL. 68 NO. 30
65 YEARS OF SERVING THE COMMUNITY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
Beaver County declares state of Agricultural Disaster
Michael Simpson Editor Last Wednesday, Beaver County posted notice on their website that the County had declared a state of Agricultural Disaster after extreme drought conditions have left many crops far below proper development levels. Beaver County Reeve Kevin Smook said rains have been so sporadic that some areas still have not received much moisture at all. The past weeks of fits and starts of rain have come “too little, too late” for many farmers, who are also dealing with exorbitant feed costs for cattle. Hay bales typically priced around $40-75 a
bale are hitting prices as high as $140-175. A recent severe hailstorm in central Alberta has added to that problem, said Beaver County Division 5 Councilor Arnold Hansen, who had plans to buy from the area until fist-sized balls of ice crushed hay for miles near Red Deer. Hansen said livestock producers are being affected by the high cost and limited supply of feed, and doesn’t expect crops will come in that well after such a slow start to the growing season. All of these were factors in the County’s decision to make the call. “It was a judgment call we made
after talking to producers and consulting our Agricultural Fieldman,” Hansen said. He’s worried about the decision some livestock producers will have to make about culling herds to make sure there’s enough feed to go around. Hansen said it could have a major impact on the provincial cattle count in coming years. In spite of facing these multifaceted challenges, Hansen said as stewards of the land, farmers and ranchers don’t want to push the land too hard to recover their money by other means because it could have an CONTINUED TO PAGE 16
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