The inclusion of elk and deer into a BSE compensation program is a nice gesture, but it will do little to help elk producers struggling with low velvet prices and few meat markets, says an Alberta elk producer.
“On the whole, it won’t do a lot of good,” said Lykele Meidema of Wetaskiwin, who is under pressure to find markets for his 300 head elk herd.
“It’s nice, but it’s not going to save me,” said Meidema, who is able to sell about two elk a week through private sales. He estimates he’ll get about $200 each for the 20 elk he will likely sell through the life of the program, which translates into about $4,000.
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The program is the same as was established for cattle producers when the American border was closed after one cow was confirmed to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy May 20.
The payments for elk are based on the difference between the weekly American price and the Alberta weekly cattle price.
If a 500-pound slaughter elk was sold the third week after the border closure, the government compensation cheque would be 22 cents a lb. or $110 for the whole animal.
There are about 2,400-2,500 deer and elk producers in Canada, who raise about 185,000 deer and elk, but few are sold or raised for meat. Estimates are that two to 20 percent of the elk are destined for slaughter and eligible for the program.
Serge Buy, executive director of the Canadian Cervid Council, said while elk producers support the beef industry in its time of troubles, they want equity from the government.
The border has been closed to many elk products for more than two years after the discovery of chronic wasting disease in elk, yet there was no action from governments to aid the cervid industry.
“The government is not being fair and equitable,” said Buy.
John Knapp, director of the rural services division of Alberta Agriculture, said the BSE compensation programs were not designed for anything except slaughter animals.
