Declaration of Municipal Agricultural Disaster – Foothills County
Please be advised that Foothills County Council has declared a Municipal Agricultural Disaster for the entire County as of June 28, 2023.
At their regular meeting of June 28, 2023, Foothills County Council passed a resolution to declare a Municipal Agricultural Disaster due to the ongoing drought and current crop conditions.
Varying winter snowpack and lack of early season moisture, along with a lack of growing season precipitation and unseasonably high temperatures has led to poor growing conditions throughout the County. 50 to 90% of annual crops and perennial forage stands have been affected. Eastern areas of the County have received less than 35% of their average annual rainfall with some areas seeing less than 2 inches in total to date. Despite substantial rainfall in June of 2022, soil moisture reserves remain severely depleted.
Pasture growth in many areas of the County has been nominal. As a result, producers have had to keep livestock on feed or turned out into hay fields that are needed to produce winter feed. With the lack of suitable pasture and high winter feeding costs, many producers will face the hard decision to disperse or reduce herd sizes.
The condition of annual crops across the County are varied, with the areas south of Blackie and High River being the most severely affected. The hot, dry conditions have caused poor germination and early maturity. Most cereal crops are in the boot to flowering stage and any additional moisture will have little effect on 2023 yields.
Foothills County recognizes the declaration of a Municipal Agricultural Disaster does not automatically trigger funding or program responses. The declaration serves to bring awareness to the Provincial and Federal governments, as well as the public, of the challenging conditions our municipal agricultural producers are facing.