The County of St. Paul declared a Municipal State of Agricultural Disaster on Nov. 26. The declaration covers the entire County of St. Paul.
Throughout the County of St. Paul 35 per cent of annual crops remain unharvested as of Nov. 26.
"These unharvested acres are consistent throughout the County of St. Paul. With recent snowfall it is unlikely that any more will be harvested before spring," reads a statement posted on the municipality's website, Thursday.
County council is aware of the hardships facing County producers because of weather conditions, and is raising awareness of the problems facing agriculture in the County of St. Paul, reads the statement.
"When our agriculture industry suffers all of our communities suffer."
With many crops remaining in the fields, residents and visitors to the County of St. Paul are asked to be mindful about hunting and winter recreation activities. Crops can be severely damaged by vehicle and snowmobile traffic. Residents are reminded to obtain permission before travelling on what may appear to be open fields.
The area has seen several years of unseasonably cool, wet weather in the summer, followed by excess moisture in fall and spring.
"These conditions both delay maturity of annual crops and make harvest difficult if not impossible for many of our producers. The added cost of drying grain with the increased cost of running equipment in wet and cold conditions was also considered when making this decision."
In 2017 the County of St. Paul also declared a State of Agricultural disaster in the spring after a similar harvest season in 2016.
"In 2016 the unharvested acres were at approximately 25 per cent with poor yields and quality also being a problem," according to the statement.
