Province stepping-up to assist cattle producers: minister By: Carol Sanders Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Monday, Sep. 30, 2019

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This article was published 29/09/2019 (1872 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steps are being taken to help cattle producers feeling the effects of a long, dry summer, Manitoba’s agriculture minister says.

Twelve rural municipalities — mostly in the Interlake and Parklands regions — declared a state of agricultural emergency after drought prevented farmers from producing enough hay to feed their cattle. Costs to transport hay for livestock or drill additional wells for water added up, and some producers had to look at selling their livestock.

In the wake, the province is taking immediate and long-term steps to help, Ralph Eichler said during a conference call Monday.

Struggling cattle producers from the drought-stricken areas can apply to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation to defer loan payments for six months with deferrals up to a year. They can also get some relief on loans to buy breeding stock and to purchase calves that are repayable when when the animal is sold, Eichler said.

The province asked MASC to work with beef producers in the affected municipalities to identify lending options, including payment deferrals, that would assist them in managing cash flow, a spokeswoman for Eichler said Monday.

The summertime drought that hit cattle producers was followed by recent heavy rains that left farmers fighting to get their crops off the field.

“It has been a struggle,” Eichler said Monday. Close to 60 per cent of Manitoba’s crop is off, with around 40 per cent yet to be harvested.

From Sept. 21 to 23, swaths of the province were pelted with more than 100 millimetres of rain. Brandon normally averages around 44 mm in the entire month of September, according to 30 years of data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, but over the course of less than three days, received as much as 122 mm.

In Zhoda, 90 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, 144 mm of rain was recorded, leading the province.

“Farmers are resilient — they’re used to it,” said Eichler. “They find ways to get a crop off, and we hope they do.”

And if they don’t?

“We have to make sure we have programs in place,” the minister said.

Weather extremes, volatile markets and trade issues are highlighting the need for established programs to change, Keystone Agricultural Producers president Bill Campbell said Monday, adding he thinks the province is on the right track.

“It’s positive they’ve acknowledged the limitations of forage and marketing programs, and the problems that the Interlake area has received,” said Campbell.

The business risk-management programs that help farmers manage significant risks threatening the viability of their businesses are covered by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year, $3-billion investment by federal and provincial governments to strengthen the agriculture and agri-food sector.

Consultations with the province and the federal government to revamp the programs have been postponed first by the Manitoba provincial election, and now the federal election, said Campbell, who hopes the talks can resume soon after the Oct. 21 national vote.

“There needs to be some retooling for the programs,” he said.

In a statement, Manitoba Beef Producers general manager Carson Callum said it was “useful that the Manitoba government is looking at the various programs and tools available to beef producers, such as loans and advance payments, to see if there are ways to adjust them to make them more responsive to the industry’s needs during this very challenging period.”

“Individual producers will need to assess these changes and determine how they could potentially help their operations,” said Callum.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

After 20 years of reporting on the growing diversity of people calling Manitoba home, Carol moved to the legislature bureau in early 2020.

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