The Alberta government has agreed to establish an $11 million livestock industry development fund.
Money became available through the federal farm income disaster program.
“They were duplicating what we were doing through our FIDP (Farm Income Disaster Program) program so it provided Alberta with more federal dollars to cost share. This freed up some provincial money,” said Ken Moholitny of Alberta Agriculture.
It was agreed to reinvest the money into agriculture initiatives.
The money is to be shared among the beef, dairy, pork and poultry sectors. An additional $1.35 million has been set aside for diversified livestock programs, said Moholitny.
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A livestock industry board has been set up comprising two cattle, one pork, one dairy and one poultry representative. Money will be administered by a third party.
About $40 million is available for industry development to be shared among crop producers and livestock.
The agreement is expected to last five to six years with a possible extension if funds are available.
The money must be dedicated to research, market promotion, biotechnology assessments or new product development. It cannot be spent on capital projects and no money may be directly paid to producers or processors.
Producers recommended the money be spent on common livestock industry concerns. These might include food safety issues, animal welfare, water quality or extension programs.
The announcement comes as a national industry development program is winding down.
Derived from money left over when the national red meat stabilization subsidy ended early, the Alberta share for the beef industry was $16.4 million.
The pork and sheep industries also received development money of lesser amounts.
