Business View Civil & Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 8

123 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 8 CYPRESS COUNTY , ALBERTA With such an abundance of nature and 300 sunny days each year, agriculture has been a thriving industry ever since the first farmstead settled in the late 1800s. The number has now ballooned to 805 farms, which operate alongside other top economic drivers like oil & gas production and tourism. Brimming with potential, the county is definitely one to watch. “Cypress County is absolutely amazing,” exclaims County Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Tarolyn Aaserud. “We have a wide variety of industries from manufacturing to agricultural dryland farming. We have a small yet strong business corridor ranging from gravel extraction to manufacturing to farm equipment dealers; they all continue to keep the county sustainable and viable. We also have a longstanding oil & gas industry here. We’re very close to Medicine Hat and Redcliff, so we offer many amenities. We have that small town rural charm with a midsize city next door.” According to the county’s Reeve, Dan Hamilton, between the years 2011 and 2017, the population increased, and has somewhat plateaued since. The hamlets of Dunmore and Desert Blume saw much of the increase. Dunmore experienced a modest seven percent increase from 1,025 to 1,095 people between the years 2011 and 2016, whereas Desert Blume soared from 306 to 586 residents during the same timeframe. Also bolstering the population is the strong county residential (C.R.) component southwest of Medicine Hat. These subdivisions add to the urban/rural mix prevalent throughout the county. “There’s been a lot of developments starting up in 2021,” explains Hamilton. “Currently there are three residential subdivisions under construction in Dunmore and Desert Blume. The two country residential projects underway in Dunmore are Eagle Ridge, consisting of large lots just minutes away from amenities, and the up-and-coming