The second phase of the 2021 Canada-Alberta Livestock Feed Assistance AgriRecovery Initiative, designed to help ranchers cover extraordinary costs created by the severe drought conditions last year, is welcome and needed, say local producers.
Chris Israelson is a Didsbury-area rancher and Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) director.
“I think it is needed and will be valuable, especially this year coming out of the summer we had,” Israelson told The Albertan. “And of course the increase in commodity prices has driven up feed costs for producers significantly this year. It is a welcome initiative.”
The second phase of the initiative opened on Jan. 5 to provide assistance to producers impacted by the 2021 drought.
In all, about $340 million is being made available through the initiative’s first and second phases.
Marie-Claude Bibeau is the federal Agriculture and Agri-Food minister.
“Our government has been quick to get producers the support they’ve needed during this last year of climate-change related challenges,” Bibeau said in a news release.
“Those in Alberta faced serious drought, so we worked collaboratively with our provincial counterparts on programs like AgriRecovery to help producers recover and focus on herd health.”
Under Phase 2 of the program, producers can apply for additional compensation to help cover costs over and above payments made under Phase 1, she said, noting that to date, more than $180 million has been distributed to 14,740 applicants under the first phase.
Payments under Phase 2 are determined using a feed-need calculation, supplemented by proof of eligible expenses, of all livestock with the exception of bees.
Nate Horner is Alberta’s minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development.
“Without this significant AgriRecovery response, Alberta producers risked losing their competitive advantage by having to sell off their livestock herds, and making difficult decisions surrounding the health of their animals. This program is providing much needed relief to producers,” Horner said in the same news release.
