Saskatchewan agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud said a long-term fix is better than ad hoc payments, and that’s why he’s willing to take criticism over the lack of immediate livestock assistance in this year’s provincial budget.
The March 19 budget increased overall agricultural spending but had nothing to help cattle and hog producers over their current crises.
Bjornerud said producers need programs that work and most agree another loan or ad hoc money won’t solve their problems.
“I’m willing to take that heat,” he said of criticism levelled by producer organizations.
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Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan president Glenn Blakley said the government “missed the mark seriously” by not providing livestock aid.
Blakley said APAS has met with Bjornerud and he knows the magnitude of the problem.
Because payments provided on a per cow basis can be trade irritants, APAS had suggested an ecological goods and services payment, based on the amount of grass needed to keep a cow herd.
“The other thing that producers face is the huge increase in the cost of slaughter in our contribution to food safety,” Blakley said. “We estimate it’s in the range of $100 an animal to slaughter in Canada, an extra cost over the U.S.”
He said governments have a responsibility to address the red ink bleeding out of the livestock sector.
Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association director Ryan Thompson said feeders were looking for both short and long-term help.
“The cattle industry is in a fairly tight situation right now and any help that we can get from our government is appreciated,” he said.
Premier Brad Wall deflected the criticism, noting his government implemented a loan program just days after taking office.
He said the budget offers many other benefits to rural residents.
The budget doubles funding for primary weight road development and begins the four-year process of doubling property tax relief.
“This is a good budget for rural Saskatchewan, for the farming community, and it’s high time they had one,” Wall said.
David Marit, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, called the budget responsible.
Marit said municipalities didn’t get everything they wanted but there are many things to be happy about.
“They focused on all the programs that we did want,” he said. “They enhanced our Clearing The Path program, our primary weight corridor went to $10 million. Our ask was that; we got it. Our roads and resources money, we asked for an increase there. We got it.”
The resource road allocation is $15 million. It provides extra funds for roads in areas where energy and mining activity are high.
Agriculturally, Marit said the new $6 million Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Fund will begin to address drought, especially in the southwest.
Bjornerud said the details of how the money will roll out have yet to be finalized. He hopes the federal government will match the funds, on top of the $3.5 million water expansion program it delivers through Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration.
Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association president Dennis Fuglerud said his organization was looking for two promises and heard both.
The commitments to fully fund AgriStability and begin reducing education tax on property are important to cow-calf producers, he said.
Thompson also said long-term plans like that will help.
Fuglerud said cattle producers have been asking the federal government for more help and would like to see any relief made available in all provinces.
The Saskatchewan agriculture budget totals nearly $303 million, up from $301 million in 2007-08. It includes an extra $1.6 million for research and $25 million for crop insurance premiums.
The farm stability and adaptation amount is down to $91.5 million from $118 million last year. Bjornerud said that’s because commodity prices are higher and spending on business risk management programs is expected to drop.
