OTTAWA – Leon Benoit, Member of Parliament for Vegreville-Wainwright, announced that livestock producers in Alberta and Saskatchewan will be receiving new funding from both the federal and provincial governments. “Ranchers have been hit hard by droughts over the last two years,” Benoit said. “Our government’s AgriRecovery program will provide the support that our livestock producers require under these tough conditions.”
Benoit went on to describe the aid that AgriRecovery will provide: “This initiative will provide funding that will allow livestock producers to purchase feed for their animals, while damaged prairie pastures recover from the droughts in 2008 and 2009. Under the 2010 Pasture Recovery Initiative, livestock producers living in the eligible counties and municipal districts in Central and Northern Alberta and West Central and Northwest Saskatchewan will receive pasture assistance for breeding cattle, as well as assistance for other types of breeding livestock, totaling up to $114 million subject to size of the eligible livestock. It is estimated that there are more than 2.2 million breeding animals in the affected areas.”
Benoit also stated that all farms in the Vegreville-Wainwright constituency fall into AgriRecovery’s designated area, and that payments will be available for all eligible breeding stock. Benoit also detailed some specific payment amounts, which include:
- $50 per head for cattle;
- $60 per head for horses;
- $25 per head for elk;
- $12.50 per head for deer and llamas; and
- $10 per head for sheep, goats, and alpacas.
“As a farmer, I’ve seen first-hand the terrible effects of the drought on the Albertan livestock industries,” Benoit concluded. “AgriRecovery will help to sustain the livestock industry by helping ranchers to address additional feed cost. This program demonstrates our government’s continued commitment to Canadian farmers.”
