Farmers around southern Manitoba have been severely impacted due to the recent drought.

Reeve of the Rural Municipality of Coldwell Brian Sigfusson says the provincial and federal governments should both look into an agricultural recovery program. He outlines how it would help the farmers in times like these.

"It would be for water for cattle pasture, hay and some kind of freight assistance," says Sigfusson. "There would also be some help, per head, for a cattle breeding stock."

He adds he understands he can't just sit back and expect the rest of the government to dig Coldwell out of their current predicament. He goes into detail about how he personally wants to help the farmers who need it.

"I will, as RM, think about holding back some of our land taxes," explains Sigfusson. "I don't know how much we can afford, but we can try to help the farmers that way."

He adds with the current drought, farmers could be forced out of the profession permanently. He explains that he doesn't want a disaster plan, he specifically wants to make sure the farmers are taken care of, as now is an especially stressful time for them.

Sigfusson says he's never seen anything this bad for agriculture in his entire life, especially due to another problem that has made its way to Coldwell.

"The other thing on top of this is all our grasshoppers are eating up everything," explains Sigfusson. "People are spraying sometimes three times already, killing grasshoppers."

He says he wants the government to realize that farmers are the lifeblood of the province and the country, and they currently need their support.