Alberta farmers who raise bison, elk, deer, caribou, musk ox and sheep were expecting to hear details this week of a program designed to provide compensation for market damage caused by BSE.
Government officials from Ottawa and the province were expected to finalize program details this week.
A case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in an Alberta cow has halted the exports of cattle and all other ruminant livestock to the United States.
John Knapp, director of the Rural Services Division with Alberta Agriculture, said industry officials would examine how the markets for each type of ruminant were affected and design the programs accordingly.
Read Also
Manitoba searches for Plan B on canola oil exports
A new report explores Manitoba’s current canola oil trade and possible alternative markets to the U.S.
About $10 to $15 million of the overall $460-million BSE aid package is earmarked for producers who raise ruminants other than cattle.
“Let’s use the right program to address the right need,” said Knapp.
Producers and markets have been affected in different ways since the U.S. ban was imposed.
For example, some lambs were being fed for the United States market, which demands a heavier animal than markets in Canada.
Bison, meanwhile, can no longer be shipped to the North American Bison Co-operative’s slaughter facility in North Dakota. A small trade in musk ox has also been halted.
