Rockyview County one of latest in a long list to declare agricultural disaster
Severe drought conditions have prompted Rockyview County to declare an agricultural disaster, joining Wheatland and 16 others in southern Alberta.
Some areas are experiencing one-in-50 year drought conditions. Wheat crops are stunted and many have almost entirely turned brown after weeks of high temperatures and months of low rainfall.
"Cereal crops, the wheat and the barley, are going to be about 50 per cent at best," said Dan Henn, Reeve of Rockyview. "Surprisingly enough, the canola crops aren't as bad."
Not as bad still isn't good, Henn says, with canola crops significantly shorter than they should be.
In other areas sloughs that normally hold water are dried and cracking.
The federal AgriRecovery program is expected to be used to help with uninsured losses throughout the west, and provincial crop adjusters have been assessing fields over the past month to allow farmers to move ahead with their claims.
The local states of disaster will help producers qualify for any aid.
The major railways are now predicting an 8.6 per cent drop in the volume of grain being shipped this year.
The combination of low yields and high feed prices are expected to trickle down to consumers.
"I think meat and other food prices are probably going to increase significantly," Henn said. "You're going to see a lot of ranchers selling cows because they just don't have the hay to feed them."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.