Minister Ritz making the announcement in Winnipeg on Friday.

 

 

The federal and provincial governments have announced an 18 million dollar program for Manitoba livestock producers facing feed shortages as a result of flooding during the 2010 growing season.

Manitoba Beef Producers and Keystone Agricultural Producers had been calling for the support since late spring when it became evident producers were facing major trouble with making hay.

The Canada-Manitoba Feed and Transportation Assistance Program has two components:

- Flooded producers are eligible for feed assistance of up to $30 per ton, based on a percentage of normal production. For example, a producer that harvested 75 percent of his/her normal hay crop would receive 75 percent of this payment. A producer requires approximately 3.7 tons of hay to sustain a single cow for the winter, meaning a full payment would be in the range of $100 to $120  per head. A 10 percent deductible will be applied to the feed assistance.

- The second component of the program comes in the form of transportation assistance. Producers who must transport feed to livestock are eligible for up to $0.22 per tonne per loaded mile. $0.10 per head per loaded mile is available for farmers who have to move animals to feed. The transportation payment rates vary according to the type of feed and animal. The minimum distance is 25 kilometres while the maximum distance for which producers can be compensated is 350 kilometers.

"Basically we started with a census of the animals, the breeding stock that is in Manitoba. We looked at the tonnage that it's going to take to carry them through the winter and then we started to put a program around those numbers," explains Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "We were able to ascertain those numbers by working together with the Manitoba Beef Producers and KAP."

So why was this program only announced in the second half of December?

"The plain fact that harvest was delayed to the point it was, trying to assess where the feed was, as to ascertain how many animals were going to be left. Some farmers took advantage of the tax deferrals and sold some breeding stock, some also took advantage of the good calf prices and decided not to background this year if they had to move feed in," he says. "So you look at all of that and get some final numbers to help you put that dollar figure to your treasury boards and finance departments."

"My encouragement to farms is to get ahold of our farm production advisors and get started on this right away. We are committed to getting this money out of the door as soon as possible," says Provincial Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Stan Struthers. "The money will flow to those who have need."

Forms are already available on the MAFRI website and at MAFRI GO Offices across the province.

~ Friday, December 17, 2010 ~