Province provides $10 million in funding for livestock producers

The provincial government will provide $10 million in funding to help livestock producers as they navigate market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The support will include $5 million for the province’s share of costs associated with the national AgriRecovery set-aside program. The other $5 million will help partially offset an increase in premium costs under the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP).

With the AgriRecovery set-aside program, livestock producers in Saskatchewan will be able to access a total of $12.5 million. The province will fund 40 per cent of the program with the federal government funding the remaining 60.

“Our livestock sector is facing tremendous challenges, with producers facing higher costs to feed animals that cannot move along the supply chain as they normally would,” Agriculture Minister David Marit said. “Participation in the AgriRecovery set-aside program will compensate producers for the cost of temporarily holding cattle back from market until supply more evenly matches demand and processing capacity.”

Under normal circumstances, roughly 3,500 head of cattle would be shipped from Saskatchewan to Alberta processing facilities every week. But with the current circumstances, that number has dropped to 400 a week.

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The province is working with industry officials, the federal government and other provinces to finalize the program’s details. The Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation will deliver the program to provincial producers.

“COVID-19 has had multiple effects on Canada’s cattle producers,” Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association Chair Arnold Balicki said. “Industry put forth a number of recommendations to governments to address our complex industry’s challenges. It is great to see Saskatchewan stepping up on set aside and price insurance. These will help with the backlog and make it more affordable for producers to participate in price insurance, injecting some certainty into the coming months.”

“It is vital that we work together to address the impact of the serious challenges presented by COVID-19,” Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association President Chad Ross said. “We welcome the measures announced today and look forward to continuing to work closely with government and other industry partners to support producers.”

To offset current impacts on the livestock sector, the province is temporarily reducing the cost of livestock price insurance through WLPIP. According to a release from the province, the provincial government will provide 40 per cent of the increased premium costs, dating back to Feb. 25, 2020.

“Today’s funding to offset increased livestock price insurance premium costs will help ensure our risk management programs meet the needs of Saskatchewan producers,” Marit said. “The Government of Saskatchewan is taking steps to ensure livestock producers have the support they require during this unprecedented period.”

The deadline to obtain calf price insurance through WLPIP was also extended from May 28 to June 18.

Sask. Stock Growers’ reaction

The news is a relief for producers, according to a release from the Stock Growers’ Association.

“We welcome the response of the Government of Saskatchewan to help address the challenges beef producers are facing,” Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association President Bill Huber said. “Western Livestock Price Insurance is a valuable tool to help producers manage risk, particularly as we navigate market volatility due to COVID-19. Today’s announcement will help make premiums more affordable and allow additional time to enroll in the program.”

Huber added producers cannot afford a lack of coverage.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting processing capacity, livestock producers are facing a serious price crunch this fall,” he said. “It is already costing the cattle industry $400,000 per day to feed cattle that normally would have been processed by now, and that number is growing every day as more animals go unprocessed.

“We are concerned because negative margins in the feeding sector and a backlog of cattle will wreak havoc with calf prices in the fall. “We’re grateful to the minister and the government for participating in these programs and recognizing the importance of the livestock industry.”

The new premium adjustments will be in effect until Sept. 1, when the provincial government will reassess them. In the meantime, the province encourages the federal government to provide 60 per cent of the increase in premium costs.

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panews@jpbg.ca