DAWSON CREEK, B.C. – If British Columbia cattle producers have to
choose a safety net program, they want to keep the Net Income
Stabilization Account, even though only 250 of the 3,000 cattle
producers have NISA asccounts.
The British Columbia government has told producers it can’t afford to
put money into both the Net Income Stabilization Account and the Whole
Farm Income Program and has asked the producers to give them direction.
During the British Columbia Cattlemen’s Association annual meeting, the
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producers voted to keep NISA despite its low use.
“Cattlemen are telling us they’re not interested in NISA,” said Tom
Davison, the cattlemen’s representative on the B.C. safety net advisory
committee.
Of the people who have NISA, only about one third use it to help boost
their income during tough economic times and about one third use it as
a retirement account. Across Canada, there is $3.5 billion in NISA
accounts.
“It’s becoming an embarrassment when producers go to government to ask
for funds,” said Davison.
On the flip side, few cattle producers have made a claim to the Whole
Farm Income Program, which can be accessed if their net income drops
below 70 percent of their previous three years.
Last year, only five people in the B.C. beef industry received money
from the whole farm program.
Davison expects more beef producers will be eligible to receive money
from the whole farm program this year because of many spring calf
deaths, due to cold weather.
“The whole farm program can do a hell of a lot more for beef producers
than NISA can,” said Davison.
Despite his preference to keep the whole farm program, most of the
producers liked the idea of keeping NISA.
John van Dongen, B.C.’s agriculture minister, said NISA is the program
the government would prefer to keep.
“The whole farm program is exceedingly complex,” said van Dongen.
