Alberta livestock producers have been given a $165 million emergency bailout by the provincial government to help offset the high costs of feed, fuel and fertilizer.
It will be a few weeks before livestock owners know details of the Alberta Farm Recovery Plan designed to help livestock producers bridge the financial gap brought on by rising costs.
Bryan Walton, general manager of the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association, said any financial help is welcome.
“It’s going to go a long way to helping us, for sure,” said Walton. “It covers some of the losses for sure.”
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federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
Livestock producers have spent months lobbying the provincial government for relief from rising costs.
Walton said the program might help keep some feeder cattle in Alberta instead of being shipped to the United States.
“We were relieved the minister understood the situation we were facing and the government did the right thing,” said Walton.
Vicki Chapman, customer service manager with the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program, said the outline of the program announced last week is in place.
It is designed to increase the support level, or the reference margin, for producers with their 2006 CAIS claim. Not all livestock producers will receive a payment, she said.
“If they’ve already received an entitlement under CAIS they will get a top up, but if they weren’t in a payment position under CAIS or quite a ways away, they may not get a payment.”
The first increase in support level will be on fuel and fertilizer. The government will apply a percentage increase that has yet to be determined to each of those expenses. The second support will be a feed proxy for each type of animal unit producers have in their 2006 opening and closing inventories. That has not been determined either.
Chapman said there weren’t many producers in a payment position for the 2006 claim year. The goal of the program is to target livestock producers and get them into a claim position.
“I don’t know how many producers will be entitled to it. I can’t say anyone is going to get $10 a head or anything like that. It’s based on each individual application.”
Producers already in the CAIS program will have the changes calculated automatically. Producers not enrolled in CAIS need to fill out an application.
Changes to the fertilizer and fuel support levels will be made shortly and money directed to hog producers first.
“They have the most need right now. Hog producers are first on the list to go,” Chapman said.
