Alberta producers who plan to let cows graze their crops must call crop insurance offices. They will likely receive permission over the phone and won’t have to wait for an adjuster’s visit.
Agriculture Financial Services Corp. is working with producers to assess the impact of dry conditions on crops and livestock across the province. Adjusters are being dispatched to the areas most severely affected.
“We are anxious to find some extra livestock feed,” said Lorelei Hulston of AFSC. She said east-central Alberta appears to be the dryest but many producers are telling adjusters they have not had a good rain in a year.
Read Also
VIDEO: Green Lightning and Nytro Ag win sustainability innovation award
Nytro Ag Corp and Green Lightning recieved an innovation award at Ag in Motion 2025 for the Green Lightning Nitrogen Machine, which converts atmospheric nitrogen into a plant-usable form.
Most producers were expected to have a response from crop insurance by the first week of July.
Producer payments are expected to be made once AFSC has confirmed the crop has been put to an alternative use.
Producers must contact AFSC before using the crop for grazing or silage, or spraying out the crop to conserve moisture and fertilizer reserves.
Given current crop conditions with far below normal precipitation so far this spring and summer, a less than average yield is anticipated.
Hulston said AFSC has received more farmer calls than usual this year, most asking for advice before they destroy the crop.
For more information on AFSC’s insurance programs, visit www.afsc.ca or call 888-786-7475.
Between May 31 and June 23, Alberta Agriculture reports precipitation accumulations across the southern half and the central portions of the region at less than 10 mm and reaching 20 to 30 mm in the north.
In the north and northeastern region rain measured 40-70 millimetres with thunderstorms accounting for most of the precipitation.
Across central portions of the region accumulations ranged from 10-20 mm. The greatest rainfall for the period was 67.7 mm at Violet Grove, while the least amount was at Vilna with 6.7 mm in the central northeastern part of the region. The central part of the province also varied with a few isolated pockets receiving 40-70 mm and other areas reporting much less.
In southern Alberta, rainfall ranged from 40-60 mm to 70-120 mm across the eastern parts of the region and along the foothills.
The greatest accumulations were recorded at the Medicine Lodge station at 123.3 mm in the east and the lowest were recorded at Mossleigh with 21 mm.
