The calf set-aside program is going ahead, despite the United States’ recent announcement that it plans to reopen the border to Canadian cattle.
Lloyd Andruchow of Alberta Agriculture said producers can still apply for the program, which will pay them to keep their calves off the market, as long as their application is in before the Jan. 15 deadline.
“As long as we received the applications in the office and they are postmarked before the border opens, then we would process the payments for them,” Andruchow said.
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The province has received 8,000 applications covering about 330,000 calves, but more are expected.
“I think the flood of applications is still to come,” he said.
“We were anticipating about 650,000 head.”
Terry Peterson, director of British Columbia’s whole farm insurance program, said he’s also operating under the assumption that the program will continue as planned.
“We’re treating this as business as usual,” said Peterson, who added any changes would have to be made at a higher political level.
So far, B.C. has received about 700 applications, representing 42,000 head of cattle. The province originally expected 50,000 to 70,000 calves.
Peterson said if history repeats itself, a flood of applications will arrive during the last week of the program. Most of the larger cattle operations have already applied.
Tom Vicars, general manager of the B.C. Livestock Producers Association, said producers are calling to ask about the program as well as the announced border reopening.
Under the calf set-aside program, B.C. producers have the choice of two end dates for the national calf set-aside program.
Producers who choose to keep their 2004-born calves off the market until Jan.1, 2006, will receive $200 per head from the federal and provincial governments, the same as producers in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
If they choose to keep calves only until Oct. 1, which is the same end date as Alberta, they will be paid $176.
Producers must also choose if they are going to set aside 30 or 40 percent of their calf herd.
A separate issue may be Alberta’s fed cattle program, which is designed to balance market-ready cattle with slaughter capacity. Industry committee members and government officials will meet to determine the fate of this program.
