The Rural Municipality of St. Laurent, in the Interlake region, has declared an agricultural state of disaster as record-breaking temperatures and a lack of rain continues to pose problems for Manitoba farms.
The municipality says it has received less than 40 percent of the normal amount of rain so far this year. As a result, crop yields are coming in at excessively low volumes and dugouts and wells are dry or are drying up.
They also say water supply and water quality are a growing concern. Some farmers have even been forced to sell livestock, noting desperate times.
Reeve of St. Laurent, Cheryl Smith says that on top of the temperatures, grasshoppers are also a problem.
"There's an infestation of grasshoppers that makes haying next to impossible. Farmers are actually trying to dig new dugouts, trying to find water for their livestock."
Cheryl hopes the farmers can get support from the federal and provincial governments.
