Alberta government continues to emphasize need for Canada-Alberta drought response

The Honourable RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, is reaching out to Alberta’s livestock producers to share an update of his efforts to support those impacted by dry conditions.

“Alberta livestock producers have faced significant challenges as a result of dry conditions,” he wrote online. “I am urgently pursuing a Canada-Alberta joint response to provide producers with the supports they need to cover extraordinary expenses.”

Alberta livestock producers have faced significant challenges as a result of dry conditions.
I am urgently pursuing a Canada-Alberta joint response to provide producers with the supports they need to cover extraordinary expenses.

See the letter I sent this afternoon to update… pic.twitter.com/ePlwPOFdrk

— RJ Sigurdson (@RjSigurdson) August 21, 2023

In early July, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation initiated the AgriRecovery process with a formal Request for Assessment from the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation to the Federal Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

In an email, AAFC broke down the process to AgriRecovery.

“Once an AgriRecovery request comes from a province, a federal-provincial task team is formed, and officials work to complete the joint assessment to examine the impacts of the disaster,” wrote a spokesperson.

This includes:

• Determining what actions producers must take in order to mitigate the impacts and/or resume production.
• Assessing whether producers are able to undertake the actions necessary for recovery with the assistance available through the core BRM programs.
• Then making a determination whether further assistance is needed to help producers deal with the extraordinary costs of recovery. 

In the meantime, Alberta Beef Producers continues to work with the Government of Alberta to explore the possibilities of a potential disaster relief framework.