Extreme conditions have producers across the prairies seeking drought and wildfire relief on both the national and provincial levels.
Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) Chair Melanie Wowk says the extreme heat is taking its toll on cattle pastures. She says they had had relatively good moisture at the end of May and parts of June, which kind of held the grasshoppers at bay. However, Wowk adds this is now perfect grasshopper weather.
Wowk says over the last few years says farmers in the region were dealing with too much rain and not being able to get their crops off in the fall – unfortunately, this year they are dealing with not enough rain.
Alberta Beef Producers are also asking ranchers to speak with their municipal councillors in regards to possibly declaring their county as a state of agriculture disaster due to the extremely dry conditions this summer.
According to Wowk, what this could do is increase the provincial government’s awareness of what is happening and potentially could trigger the AgriRecovery program which is part federal and part provincially funded.
She says they are also asking producers who have crop insurance to contact their local Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) office for a pre-harvest assessment, in order to see if those crops could potentially be converted to cattle feed.
She says ABP is putting their producer money to work to try and find solutions.
Alberta Beef Producers and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association are inviting producers to join them for two virtual town halls this week. They will discuss the drought and wildfire relief being sought for those in regions currently experiencing extreme conditions. The first virtual town hall is Monday, July 19th at noon and the other is Tuesday, July 20th at 6:30pm. Visit the website abpDaily.com to register. You can also submit questions prior to the town hall for the live question and answer period that will take place. Questions can also be submitted via email or by tagging the Alberta Beef Producers on social media with the hashtag #ABPTownHall.
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