Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) is urging farmers to use the AgriRecovery funds promised to the industry.
The sector is now over 2-1/2 months past the announcement of AgriRecovery program details.
Why it matters: Manitoba Beef Producers says the sector should try to use up current AgriRecovery programs, especially if they want to convince government to put more resources into a herd-rebuilding program.
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The federal and provincial governments announced that AgriRecovery would be in play this year in early August. Manitoba’s AgriRecovery programs would cover $155 million in aid, both levels of government said.
On Aug. 31, the province announced specific details of two programs that would be covered by the framework. Producers were also promised a longer-term program to help rebuild dwindled herds. That program is still in development.
The first program, feed assistance, would help cover the expense of buying feed to support the breeding herd, the province said. The same program covers feed testing to report nutritional value of a feed.
Those purchases must be made between June 1 of this year and March 15, 2022, and producers must have at least 10 animals to apply.
Under the program, beef producers will have to shoulder $50 per head, while payments to the producer will cover up to three-quarters the cost of buying feed, up to $250 a head.
Producers must submit receipts to back up their cost claims.
On the feed transportation side, only hauls over 40 kilometres away are eligible, while payments are based on the weight of the feed and distance hauled, up to 600 kilometres, one way.
Another AgriRecovery program would instead cover the cost of transporting breeding stock to the feed.
Uptake
As of Oct. 22, the province had approved 118 applications worth $1.67 million.
“We hear various accounts of producers looking to take advantage of the program,” MBP general manager Carson Callum said. “It’s just that they haven’t quite yet.
“Seeing as it is a receipts-based program, some of these folks haven’t necessarily had the cash flow to purchase some of the feed, so they haven’t had the receipt to send in,” he added. “Hopefully in the next weeks and months here we have sharper uptake of the program to ensure that dollars are used.”
The producers’ group is also maintaining its call for the province to expand the list of eligible costs and encourage uptake.
As the program is currently limited to breeding stock, feed purchases for market animals or growing animals are not eligible, nor is custom silaging or the cost of putting up a farm’s own forage. In particular, Callum noted, many producers incurred significant labour or fuel cost fencing off new area, hauling water, cutting ditches or other extra jobs.
“A lot of these things that were costs incurred by producers could be opened up and deemed eligible in the program,” he said.
It is MBP’s hope that good uptake on feed and transportation programs will translate to more favourable terms once details of the herd-rebuilding program are released.
“This first feed assistance (program) is the first line of defence to ensure that producers have the support to keep those animals on farm,” Callum said. “We haven’t seen any details announced on the second stage of the program and I still truly believe there will be benefit in it, but we just need to ensure that dollars are used in the first one.”
Producers have until April 15, 2022 to apply for feed and transport assistance.
