LAKELAND - The M.D. of Bonnyville has declared a state of municipal agricultural disaster due to insufficient rainfall over the summer months. Concerns about both crop yields and quality, along with the price and availability of hay are being heard across the Lakeland.
The decision was made by council on July 22, with all members of council present voting in favour of the declaration.
According to information released by the municipality, they don’t currently meet the RMA’s drought guidelines but expect to within the next two weeks.
Field inspections done last week by Matt Janz, the general manager of Environmental and Protective Services, “found that the quality and quantity of the canola crops will be greatly reduced at harvest. He also indicated cereal crops will suffer if the municipality does not receive a significant amount of moisture in the next week or so,” according to information from the municipality.
M.D. of Bonnyville Reeve Barry Kalinski, said making the declaration creates “awareness in the rest of the province that we’re suffering.”
“There might be a little bit of help for the farmers in the region, but right now it’s just telling them the shape we’re in,” said Kalinski.
He said the M.D. of Bonnyville is under a lot of stress as there hasn’t been any rain for the past month and a half, “and most places crops are dying, and the cows are running out of pastures.”
Soil moisture
According to the provincial moisture update from July 17, “Large portions of the North East, North West and Peace Regions reporting less than 0.5 mm, which is far below the typical 35 to 65 mm normally received during this time.”
Soil moisture reserves are also estimated at low to extremely low levels. While some rain did fall in areas of the Lakeland since July 24, it did not hit every area.
“Several pockets across these regions are experiencing the driest soil moisture reserves relative to long term normal. Fortunately, for these areas, July is still typically a good month for moisture and as such, timely rainfall could satisfy crop needs,” reads the report.
Rural Municipalities of Alberta is tracking agricultural disasters declared by municipalities in 2025 and has a published guide for making a declaration of agricultural disaster.
“A common misperception is that a municipal declaration of an agricultural disaster will influence a provincial declaration or access to funding support. This is simply not the case. Municipal declarations bring awareness to an issue in a specific area of the province, but they do not trigger a provincial declaration or access to any funding to support the issue,” reads the guide.
According to the guide, municipalities need to consider whether the entire area is impacted or just particular regions; if it includes all agriculture or only certain commodities; feedback from producer groups; and the availability of data to support the decision.
According to RMA, five rural municipalities have declared agricultural disasters this season: M.D. of Pincher Creek, M.D. of Greenview, Cypress County, County of Grande Prairie, and M.D. of Bonnyville.
Given the dry conditions, County of St. Paul, Lac La Biche County, County of Two Hills, and M.D. of Bonnyville are all closely monitoring the situation.
Lac La Biche needs more weather stations
In his report to council at the July 22 meeting, Lac La Biche County CAO Manny Deol said “based on the current conditions and data, we don’t think we are at a point where we’ll declare a disaster.”
He noted the county is still compiling the data and producers have until July 28 to return surveys about the conditions.
“And our supports are available, like water trailer pumps and the service equipment for rotational grazing and water access,” said Deol.
Lac La Biche Ward 6 Coun. Sterling Johnson sits on the Agricultural Service Board and Veterinary Services Incorporated/Soil Conservation Act Appeal Committee. He said one of the problems they’re going to run into again this year is a lack of weather stations to collect data from different parts of the County.
“So, we'll be judged by the tower up in Conklin, the one down in Rich Lake, and one in Lac La Biche. So, when we review all the precipitation and everything, it'll probably be like other years where we won't catch the different areas where there is drought and it makes it tougher to declare or get funding,” said Johnson.
According to Johnson, south of Lac La Biche down Highway 36 looks normal, while north near Owl River and “the Russian Village” [Plamondon area], crops are 30 per cent down.
Two Hills running out of pasture
“I don’t think we’re ready to [declare a disaster] here yet, but if we don’t get some significant moisture in the next two weeks, I think the crops are going to be poor at best,” said Elden Kozak, agricultural fieldman for the County of Two Hills.
He said from Two Hills west towards Willingdon the crops are looking OK, but “still definitely showing signs of heat stress.” In the Myrnam and Derwent area “crops are variable from poor to OK at best,” as a result of uneven germination in the canola.
Kozak said the grasshoppers are getting bad and just starting to noticeably affect some crops.
“You’re trying to save a crop [by spraying] that you don’t even know if it’s going to be very good,” said Kozak.
According to Kozak, pastures across the County of Two Hills are suffering badly, both from the heat and grasshoppers.
“Some cattle producers have pastures turning brown and it’s end of July. We generally graze until the end of September, into October and it’s looking like there might be no pasture by the end of August,” said Kozak.
Typically, each cow needs six or seven 1,500 lb bales of hay for feed over the winter.
Kozak said the big problem for the cattle producers will be the price of hay increasing, “and it’s going to be hard to even buy feed because there’s not much in the area.”
County of St. Paul to make disaster decision in August
A decision about declaring an agricultural disaster in the County of St. Paul is expected at the Aug. 12 meeting of council, following direction from council for administration to monitor the situation in the interim.
“It might even be sooner than that. We’re really monitoring the system. I think we’re all pretty sensitive to how critical it is right now due to the lack of moisture,” said Reeve Glen Ockerman.
Ockerman said the last time the County of St. Paul saw conditions this dry was in the drought of 2001.
“It's bad enough not having grass, but our pastures, our dugouts are so low. Our creeks and all our water systems are low. And people, where they do have grass or cattle, now they're having to haul water. So, it's just another chore and expense,” said Ockerman.
Ockerman said the cost of farming has increased in the past 20 years and it’s weighing on the minds of producers.
“It's such big dollars. When we have a year like this and you get no production or hardly any production, it’s tough to recover from.”
Assistant agricultural fieldman for County of St. Paul Mienna Starosielski, said the insufficient and poorly timed rainfall have impacted pasture, hay, and crop conditions this year.
"It’s disheartening to watch the forecasted rain disappear each day, and it's becoming clear that we are caught in what appears to be a cycle of dryer years. Farmers are doing their best to adapt, but the stress and uncertainty are palpable across the region with low moisture reserves," said Starosielski.
She emphasized that drought related funding and support for producers is not automatically triggered when a municipality declares a disaster. The declaration raises awareness, but it is still up to the provincial and federal governments to initiate relief programs.
With files from Mario Cabradilla
