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County of Minburn Lobbying for Inclusion in Drought Livestock Assistance Program
County of Minburn Lobbying for Inclusion in Drought Livestock Assistance Program
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
The County of Minburn is appealing to provincial and federal agriculture ministers to be included in its joint drought livestock assistance program.
At the Nov. 20 regular meeting, members of county council unanimously endorsed a motion to write a letter to the agriculture ministers outlining their concerns as well as formally request assistance for its agricultural producers.
In conversation with County of Minburn Agricultural Fieldman Darwin Ullery on Jan. 5, he stated that he has not received a formal response to the request and felt that it wasn’t looking good for local producers at this point in time.
The letter that was endorsed by council and signed by Reeve Roger Konieczny, stated, “On behalf of the County of Minburn I am writing to express our deep concern regarding our municipality’s exclusion from the 2023 Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance Program.
The 2023 season has proven exceptionally challenging for livestock producers in our area, with low winter precipitation and minimal moisture throughout May and June resulting in severe drought conditions for forage crops and pasture.
While late-season rain in July and August did provide some relief for annual crops, it unfortunately came too late to salvage forage crops and pasture. This has left our producers struggling to secure sufficient pasture for the remainder of the season and facing a shortage of forage for the approaching winter. The adverse impact on our agricultural community is significant, with far-reaching consequences for both our livelihoods and the broader regional economy.”
Konieczny also pointed out the frustration felt by them after observing other neighbouring municipalities to the east and north of the County of Minburn being included in the assistance program. “Upon reviewing weather station data from the Alberta Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), it is evident that many stations in these municipalities received nearly double the rainfall in May and June compared to our region. Despite these discrepancies, they were deemed eligible for assistance while our municipality was excluded.”
He went on to say, that in light of the circumstances consultation should be done, and reconsideration be given to County of Minburn to be included in the program.
