Northern Sunrise County is sounding the alarm for its farmers. Reeve Carolyn Kolebaba says council declared an agricultural disaster last week. While the declaration won’t provide local producers with funding , tax breaks or tax deferrals, Kolebaba is hopeful that the federal government will take notice of the plight of farmers. “Some (farmers) have as much as 80 percent of their crops still in the ground,” says Kolebaba. “Because it has been two consecutive years of struggles, Northern Sunrise County Council decided that we should declare a state of emergency and bring attention to their plight.”
Kolebaba had a chance to meet with Alberta Agriculture Minister, Devin Dreeshen, at the recent Rural Municipalities of Alberta’s fall convention. She says there may be some support at the provincial level for struggling farmers. “He (Dreeshen) said there are support mechanisms in place in Alberta for these kind of situations,” mentioned Kolebaba. She is also hoping that Ottawa will be responsive to the needs of farmers. “The federal government seems to want to take care of certain areas, but not others,” commented Kolebaba. “Our intent is to forward the declaration to the federal minister of agriculture and let him know that this is happening in Alberta.” Kolebaba adds that she is unsure of how the federal government will respond but hopes to be able to support the farmers who need it.
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
