FORT MACLEOD, Alta. – Alberta lamb producers are not only trying to sell more lamb to Canadians but are trying to sell the merits of their organization to producers.
The small organization with an annual budget of $157,000, is caught in the crossfire of a bigger battle among beef groups over a refundable checkoff. Alberta agriculture minister George Groeneveld introduced legislation last spring to make all producer levies paid to commodity groups refundable upon request.
“Everything was going really well for us and when this refundable checkoff came along the board felt really defeated. It had a really negative impact on us,” said board chair Norine Moore of Stavely.
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“We were told by the ag minister that we weren’t the target,” she said in an interview following a producer meeting in Fort Macleod Nov. 2.
However, it leaves them in a quandary for future budgets.
“We’ll just go ahead. That is all we can do.”
Alberta Lamb increased its checkoff to $1.50 per animal two years ago with promises the organization would not ask for more money in the foreseeable future. The money is paid when producers buy the mandatory identification tags.
The organization has been able to access funds in the past through organizations like the diversified livestock fund for research and promotion programs. It was often able to find $3 for every dollar it put up but under the new system with the Alberta livestock and meat agency, that may not be possible, Moore said.
Last year about $162,000 was collected in producer checkoffs, and additional grants totalling nearly $360,000 were found to fund various projects like promotion, producer education and research.
Alberta contributes about $19,000 a year from its checkoff to the Canadian Sheep Federation.
The best case scenario is that people do not ask for their money back, said Moore. People may apply 25 days after the tags are purchased and request a refund from the organization. Money would be refunded once a year.
Earlier this year, Alberta Lamb wrote a business plan that included increasing lamb production by five percent a year for five years to fill more local demand.
Less than 50 percent of Alberta lamb demand is met by local producers. The shortfall is filled with imported meat.
