CALGARY — With more than half of its pastures and crops currently rated as poor, Rocky View County has made the decision to declare an agricultural disaster.
Most farmers in the county bordering the City of Calgary are expecting a 50 per cent reduction in yield for canola, wheat and barley, which is well below five to 10-year averages.
Moisture levels in most of the county are at levels seen once in a quarter to half-century.
“It’s kind of unclear where we’re sitting on some stuff, but some crops aren’t even filling seeds very well, so, we’ll see how it comes off as we get to it, the hay crops are not very good and they’re the ones that hurt the most,” said Mark Grant, the farm manager for Lantz Farms.
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Grant says they have been hit hard, but not as hard as some others have.
“I’ve driven around lately and we’re a little more fortunate than a lot of guys, a lot of guy’s crops are literally nothing, so at least we’ll have something to combine.”
There are now 21 counties and municipal districts in Alberta that have declared agricultural disasters.
