The County of Stettler Agriculture Service Board (ASB) has decided that its producers who want strychnine this year will essentially put their names in a hat. The decision was made at the May 20 ASB meeting.

Board members read a request for decision (RFD) from Manager of Ag Services Rob Klatt regarding how 2 per cent liquid strychnine will be distributed to local producers. Since the federal government’s announcement of a strychnine emergency program, it’s been revealed very limited supplies will be available, at least in 2026.

Klatt provided a report requesting board members decide how the County of Stettler will distribute strychnine to producers. Klatt offered board members three options as food for thought: a lottery system, an equal allocation system or a first come, first served system.

As board members discussed this and other issues related to the strychnine program, Klatt stated it will be weeks before the gopher control poison is available; he estimated it would be near the end of June when the County of Stettler will have strychnine in stock.

Klatt echoed concerns about limited supply. “The number we have are gonna be pretty minimal,” said Klatt, who observed the County of Stettler has an “interested” list of 123 producers and estimated there could be double that number who actually want into the program.

Klatt stated the first monthly shipment of strychnine will be 432 bottles, meaning if distributed equally every producer would get, “...a couple of bottles.”

Klatt also observed the amount of bureaucracy involved in this program, stating that the amount of paperwork for selling one bottle of strychnine is the same as selling 50 bottles. He also noted that most municipalities are charging an administration fee on every strychnine transaction, some charging $20 to $30 per case, others charging 12 per cent across the board while some are charging nothing. Board members agreed a charge is in order as the amount of staff time needed for this program is considerable.

Further, the ag manager stated the effectiveness of applying strychnine later in the year is about 10 per cent that of applying earlier.

Hence, some of the discussion centred around simply stockpiling monthly shipments and holding off until spring 2027. However, several board members balked at this, noting there’s been a lot of publicity around this program and producers are likely expecting it.

Reeve Larry Clarke noted that giving producers one or two bottles could be perceived as a joke or waste of time; he proposed pushing distribution back to July so the county has two months’ supply available rather than one. Klatt reiterated that the county is expecting monthly shipments of 432 bottles of strychnine.

Coun. Justin Stevens noted that one bottle of strychnine can do one acre, while the County of Stettler stretches across 980,000 acres. Klatt confirmed that was correct.

As board members discussed the issue, Klatt pointed out the county has enough storage space for strychnine.

The board eventually decided when it comes to strychnine distribution the County of Stettler will implement a lottery-based distribution system for the 2026 season whereby eligible producers are entered into randomized monthly allocation draws based on available supply and further that producers who are picked once are ineligible for further draws until strychnine supplies are healthy in 2027.