Cattle producers ignored
Cattle producers were excluded from the federal-provincial Excess Moisture Program announced as an AgriRecovery initiative.
The day of the $30 an acre announcement, the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association issued a news release saying it expected governments to include standing pasture and hay lands that had been flooded. However, only annual cropland is included.
Yesterday, the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association issued a news release saying many of its members are experiencing a terrible time due to extreme flooding of hay and pasture. The MCPA is disappointed that the relief package doesn’t address the needs of beef producers. It continues to monitor the situation and work with government on a response.
Governments always seem to respond more generously and decisively to problems in the crops sector. Grain producers already have better safety nets than livestock producers, specifically crop insurance. Yet governments came out with an additional flood program for crops without any mention of action for livestock producers facing similar problems.
It’s easy to see why some cattle producers feel like second class citizens.
What a surprise…. not! This is not the first year that excess moisture has added insult to injury for the cattle producers of this province either. It’s hard enough to survive in the cattle business these days without having to deal alone with natural disasters that everyone else seems to get help with. There is money for everything from washed out roads, to crops, to basements, yet none for a sector of agriculture which generates a significant portion of our provincial economy.
I wonder if anyone has noticed that the beef supply of this country is in grave danger of disappearing? Producers are leaving in droves, and this is one example of just why they are doing it.