The Alberta government has learned from the previous mistake of tying aid money to the slaughter of animals, says Alberta agriculture minister Shirley McClellan.
Four days after the federal government announced a federal cull cow program tied to slaughter, Alberta announced its own mature animal aid program not tied to slaughter.
“If we had gone to slaughter, we would have limited our producers to one buyer,” said McClellan, pointing to a 50 percent drop in mature cow prices when the federal government first announced that its aid program would pay out upon slaughter of eligible animals.
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“As soon as you tie dollars to something, you have a good chance of really messing up the marketplace,” she said.
The Alberta government’s program has the endorsement of the cattle industry. Prices that dropped after announcement of the slaughter aid program crept up when the Alberta government introduced a set-aside program that allowed feedlot owners to collect aid money without having to sell their animals.
Arno Doerksen, chair of Alberta Beef Producers, called the Alberta program appropriate. “It doesn’t interfere with the market realities.”
Under Alberta’s program, cattle producers must register the cattle they owned as of Sept. 1, 2003. Eight percent of the cows in the registered beef herd are eligible for a payout, and 16 percent of dairy herds.
Payouts range from $180 per head for beef, dairy and bison cull cows to $336 per head for beef, dairy and bison cull bulls.
Sheep and goats will trigger $36 per head. Producers can also choose a price differential payment option. A 1,400-pound cow could bring $244, the difference between a 20 cents per head sale price and a 50 cents per head historic sale price.
Elk, deer, llamas, alpacas and reindeer are also eligible for financial assistance not tied to slaughter.
Alberta producers are eligible for money under the federal cull cow program as well.
About 250,000 Alberta ruminant animals are expected to be slaughtered under this program, about 90 percent of them beef animals.
Alberta may not be the only province to develop a program in addition to federal assistance. In Regina, agriculture minister Clay Serby said he may announce a provincial program, which like Alberta’s, would not require slaughter for compensation.
On Nov. 25, Ontario agriculture minister Steve Peters announced he wants a BSE task force of industry representatives, created last summer, to study the issue and offer him recommendations for a provincial strategy by the end of the year.
