CONSUL, Sask. – Rate increases at Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration community pasture fees are not sitting well with some Saskatchewan ranchers.
They say they weren’t consulted about fee increases even though they rely on the four community pastures that comprise much of the grazing land in the province’s southwest corner where they run their operations. Those pastures are Govenlock, Reno, Nashlyn and Battle Creek.
A recently approved five-year business plan for PFRA’s pasture program was developed to provide an operational framework for the program while addressing environmental objectives. It includes a federal government commitment to continued funding.
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But the fee increases to patrons, which will see the daily rate for a cow-calf pair go from 36 cents in 2006 to 40 cents this year and rise a nickel each year after that to 55 cents in 2010, are causing concern among ranchers.
Over a 140-day grazing season, and including breeding fees that will also rise, the cost for a pair will go from $104.40 in 2006 to $117 this year to $152 in 2010.
Other fees that will go up include grazing for bulls, horses, calves and foals, and the cost for animals born on pasture. Administration fees for pasture-born animals will stay steady, as will the rented bull administration fee.
“Who’s going to pay the fees if we can’t make a profit?” asked rancher Gay Holeha, one of about 100 people who attended a Jan. 23 meeting at the Consul Hall, organized by pasture representatives and attended by PFRA officials.
He asked why patrons hadn’t been included in development of the business plan and why they hadn’t received copies when they received their applications for 2007 last September.
Rick Gaube, manager of PFRA’s land management division, said about 600 patrons were randomly selected to fill out surveys about the proposal, and the final plan was just approved earlier in January.
He told the meeting that grazing fees haven’t changed in six years and breeding fees haven’t gone up in 12 years.
The pasture program includes 85 pastures, most of them in Saskatchewan, covering 2.3 million acres and serving 3,100 patrons with about 220,000 cattle.
Gaube said the total cost of operating the pastures right now is $24.1 million, not including the costs of agriculture department employees who provide some service to the program as part of their duties.
Ottawa will contribute $7.1 million to the program this year and its contribution will also rise to $8.8 million by 2010.
“About half the pastures make money; half the pastures lose money,” Gaube said, adding that some of the smaller pastures will never be profitable from grazing but are important from an environmental or heritage perspective.
Some are earning money from oil and gas development.
Infrastructure is deteriorating and needs to be modernized, Gaube said. There are 11,000 kilometres of fence alone that has to be maintained.
Some pastures have to address problems with invasive species and brush control. Tame forage needs to be rejuvenated, and drought control and water development continue to be priorities.
And even with the increases, it will cost less to graze a cow for a season on a PFRA pasture when compared to the nearby provincial Arena pasture, a private lease and co-op pastures, according to PFRA information.
One patron asked Gaube what happens after the five-year plan ends. He pointed out that livestock producers were at the bottom of a list of those who would benefit from the plan, after Canadians, the federal government, PFRA and the livestock industry as a whole.
“I don’t think in five years there’s going to be this mass change,” Gaube replied.
The benefits of continued grazing on public land are well documented, he said.
At the end of the meeting Holeha moved a resolution that the patrons not support the business plan. It was considered passed, although just a handful voted.
In an interview, Gaube said he has heard from just one other patron group about the plan. While not thrilled with fee increases, the Manitoba producers thought a five-year plan was a good idea, he said.
