Hanna District Office

Assistance available

AAFC-PFRA works with producers, farm groups, industry and other levels of government, to help protect Prairie soils and to develop and conserve water resources. The Hanna PFRA District Office supports its clients through a wide range of technical services including water development, land/soil conservation and planning, and geographic information systems. We help clients analyze opportunities, develop ideas and concepts, and make initial assessments of feasibility. We also ensure that projects are implemented in an environmentally sustainable manner.

District description

The Hanna PFRA District is comprised of 9 rural and 34 urban municipalities serving a population of 52,000 people in east-central Alberta. The district includes Flagstaff, Paintearth, Stettler and Starland Counties, Special Areas north of the Red Deer River, and the Municipal Districts of Acadia and Provost. Towns found here include Drumheller, Hanna, Oyen, Coronation, Castor, Stettler, Daysland, Killam, Sedgewick, Hardisty, and Provost. There are 21 villages and several hamlets throughout this district, along with two summer villages beside Buffalo Lake. Approximately 5,000 farm units operate in the Hanna District.

Both the grassland and parkland ecosystems of this district are spotted with sloughs, many of them seasonal, contributing to one of the most productive waterfowl areas of North America. The Red Deer River, with its spectacular badlands, forms most of the western and the entire southern boundary of this district. Other significant geographical features include the Hand Hills south-west of Hanna, Neutral Hills north of Consort, Buffalo Lake north-west of Stettler, Sullivan Lake (mainly dry) south of Castor, Berry and Sounding Creeks and several reservoirs. Intermittent tributaries dissect the prairies. The Battle River separates the Flagstaff County in the north from the rest of the district.

Climatic variation is a major factor affecting the year-by-year viability of our most important industry agriculture. Ag production here includes the cropping of cereals, oilseeds, legumes, grass seed and forages, along with ranching on some large tracts of both native and tame pasture. U-pick berry farms are increasing in number and impact on the land. Residents are finding new ways to add value to their products with the application of research pertinent to this district's strengths. Resource extraction includes coal mining for thermal power generation, gravel removal, plus oil and gas production. Businesses serving these industries contribute much to the prosperity of east-central Alberta. Tourism is becoming increasingly important to local economies. Well known sites such as the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology (Drumheller) and Dinosaur Provincial Park (North Unit) are located in this district.

The Hanna District is divided into three zones based on land use practices, climate and resources:

• Zone 1 is mainly cropland, encompassing the majority of Starland, Stettler and Flagstaff counties
• Zone 2 is transition, encompassing the majority of the MD of Provost and the County of Paintearth and small sections of other municipalities.
• Zone 3 is mainly ranches and larger cow-calf operations, encompassing the remainder of the Special Areas and MD of Provost