RM of Dundurn declares agricultural disaster due to drought conditions in central Sask.

A rural municipality in central Saskatchewan has declared an agricultural disaster due to drought.

The RMof Dundurn No. 314, about 30 kilometres south of Saskatoon,is calling on otherlevels of government to send disaster relief to farmers and ranchers in the area, according to a news release issued Wednesday.

This season is "right up there with one of the worst," Deputy Reeve Ben Wilson, who is also a farmer and rancher in the area, toldCBC Radio'sAfternoon EditionFriday.

"This has been going on for a few years now and it's just been kind of steadily getting worse."

The last droughtWilson could think of that was this bad was around 2001 or 2002, he said.

The rural municipality received 69 millimetres of rain from April 1 to July 10, according to the rainfall summary in the latest provincial crop report.

Cropland topsoil moisture in the rural municipality is short, while hay and pasture topsoil moisture is between very short and short, thecrop report says.

The hot and dry conditions in west-central Saskatchewan,the area that includes the RM of Dundurn, have allowed producers to nearly finish the first cut of hay, but they are hoping for rain, according to the crop report.

Crop damage in the west-central region, from July 4 to 10, was caused by the weather, with grasshoppers still a concern as well, the report says.

Farmers in the RM of Dundurn didn't have to worry about grasshoppers last year, Wilson said, so the insects are an added concern.

The Saskatchewan government is monitoring the drought conditions closely, Charlotte McGraw, the Ministry of Agriculture's director of communications,told CBC News in an email Friday.

McGraw said agricultural producers' "primary line of defence" against drought is through AgriStability, AgriInvest and crop insurance business risk management programs offered through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation.

The AgriStability program raised its compensation rate to 80 per cent this year, McGrawsaid. People enrolled in the program can also request half of their final payment, so they can access money before the year is over.

Farmers and livestock producers can access crop and livestock insurance programs, shesaid.

Producers can also reach out to the Ministry of Agriculture's extension specialists for advice, such as agronomic advice and alternative feeding strategies, shesaid.

The federal Ministry of Agriculture and Agri-food did not immediately respond to arequest for comment from CBC on Friday.

The federal and provincial governments announced Wednesday that the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation is implementing measures to help livestock producers challenged by drought conditions this year.

The corporationis doubling the low-yield appraisal threshold values this yearin response to the feed shortage, a federal news release says.This allows cereal and crop farmers to turn morebushels per acreintofeed.

Wilson hopes the declaration of an agricultural disaster can help move crop insurance payments faster for farmers in the area, he said.