Lamont County farmers predicting 20 to 25 per cent loss with flooding

Agricultural disaster in Lamont County The late thaw and wet spring has taken a toll on farmers northeast of Edmonton. Officials in Lamont County have declared and agricultural disaster. Nicole Weisberg has the story.

EDMONTON — Some Lamont County farmers are expecting to lose about a quarter of their seeded acres due to overland flooding this spring.

The county declared a state of agricultural disaster at a June 10 council meeting.

Officials say many of the roughly 675 farmers in the county were unable to finish seeding because of the flooding to begin with, and that rain in recent weeks will cause further loss.

"Maybe three weeks ago we had three inches of rain come down. And then the following weeks we had a three inches of rain come down which pooled in low areas," Christopher Greening, a farmer of 2,000 acres, told CTV News Edmonton.

"It’s turned the fields to mud. They look dry. You don’t see any water on the fields but when you go to take the equipment on them, you break through that dry surface layer into the mud that’s underneath."

Greening estimated he was able to plant about 30 per cent of the crop he normally would.

"And at this point, there’s not going to be any more going in for this year, I think."

The emergency declaration will make producers in the county eligible for provincial or federal government assistance if any is offered in the future.

"We had severe flooding in 2018 but that was just from the quick spring thaw and then things dried up later on so farmers could still seed a crop. But this year, from what I can remember, I don’t remember a year with this much water," Lamont County reeve Dave Diduck said.

Those who participated in a survey the county conducted at the end of May reported between 20 and 25 per cent of their acres left to seed, and Diduck said some residents have seen their homes flood for the first time ever.

"There’s just water all over the place."

Greening called it unlikely either the provincial or federal government would put out a program to aid farmers, but his county reeve said the declaration draws attention to the situation.

"This is the fifth year our farmers are suffering and it’s beginning to take a toll on them, both financially and I’m sure there’s a lot of them under a lot of mental stress out there."

The county has received about 86 millimeters of rain since the start of June.

The wet spring follows a fall which many farmers unable to finish harvest.

Farmers like Greening are hoping for a hot period to help crops mature so the year isn’t a total loss.

"To take a hit isn’t a problem. It’s when you have hit after hit after hit after hit and there’s a lot of people getting ready to pull the pin," he said.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nicole Weisberg