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By Adrian St.Onge

Disaster declared for third straight year

Cypress County experiences tough agriculture season

Aug 4, 2023 | 5:15 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Cypress County has declared its third straight year of agricultural disaster. This has led to a significant drop in crop yields, and with Alberta’s agricultural industry contributing $8.1 billion annually to the Canadian economy, farmers are left wondering when relief might arrive.

It’s no secret that it’s been a hot summer. Parts of southern Alberta have broken heat records and while this seventh straight drought year is not new to farmers or the agriculture industry, this is still cause for concern. Cypress Country Coun. Blaine Brost has a cattle ranch just north of Irvine and Brost said that farmers might have to take drastic action to prepare for next spring.

“I’ve been feeding these horses, this cattle with hay bales instead of grass, because there just hasn’t been any,” Brost explained. “I hear different places are starting to have pairs come in and splitting them off. Three weights are going off to the feedlot, and under are staying with their mothers until they’re ready to split off. This creates a big expense.”

Last year’s Cypress Country Farm Family of the Year Award winner Josh Beck says that culling might be the best practice for this coming farming season. He says that farmers had a tough time feeding cattle through the severe drought in 2021 and that a repeat could prove disastrous, citing the increased cost of calves, hay and the lack of total moisture. Beck said the conditions have been favourable for grasshoppers and that this year’s population is the largest he’s ever seen and that they’ve reduced crop yields by up to 70 per cent.

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“The grasshoppers were a surprise when we started seeing them so early,” said Beck. “We’ve lost edges of fields, we’ve lost 80 acres out of a hundred-acre field. We sprayed as much as we could but it gets to a point where the economics don’t make sense anymore to keep doing it and now they’re getting almost too big to spray because they’re flying.”

While the farm has been in family hands for over 100 years and he’s seen his share of drought, this year’s grasshopper population has been the biggest challenge. Beck says that farmers might have to take their cattle off of grass and grain early to start them on feed. This raises the cost for farmers, but might be necessary.

“I don’t know where we go from here other than just trying to keep your cost down and, huh, just preparing for another drought,” Beck said. “If it turns around to be a good year next year, then, that’s better.”

Beck says that crop insurance does help ease the burden, but that the premium costs will go up next year as it’s based on annual averages.

“Try to stay positive,” explained Brost. “The cattle market is good right now, so try and take advantage of that. Forward plan as much as you can, even if you have to cull some cows, and try to get through this thing, because there will be good times ahead.”