July 15, 2025, marked the fourth time in five years that Cypress County has had to declare a state of agricultural emergency.
Declaring a state of agricultural disaster allows producers to access provincial and federal relief programs.
While the county has received some rain, it was too late for many producers, local officials have said.
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Cypress County is in southeastern Alberta and includes the city of Medicine Hat, the town of Redcliff and several villages including Dunmore, Hilda and Walsh.
Cypress County is regularly drier than areas further west.
According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada weather data, areas around and southeast of Medicine Hat had received 60-90 millimetres less rain than normal through the growing season as of July 20. Rain had brought southcentral and southwestern Manitoba up to 15 millimetres shy to above long term precipitation averages, while the nothern half of the province remained dry.
That’s a recent development.
As of July 8 the Alberta Crop Report showed either poor (17.6 per cent) or fair (37 per cent) soil moisture ratings for the south part of the province.
The soil conditions were even worse in June. The June 17 report showed poor (35.8 per cent) and fair (39.6 per cent) in the southern region.
The county issued a fire ban June 27 due to extremely dry conditions, downgraded on July 15.
Several municipalities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have declared agricultural disaster this year. In Alberta, Greenview and Pincher have declared agricultural disasters in their counties, while Maple Creek and Fox Valley in Saskatchewan have also sounded the alarm. In Manitoba, the agricultural areas announcing drought-related states of emergency or agricultural disaster include the RM of St. Laurent and RM of Coldwell, according to local media.
The declaration of an agricultural disaster gives producers the opportunity to salvage their inadequate crops for feed, and to make other decisions that can financially benefit them.
