Beef and pork producers continue to face huge losses, even with a $252 million assistance program announced by the federal government on Tuesday.
That is far less than the $2.6 billion requested by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture or the $20 per hog by the Canadian Pork Council.
“We look forward to more solutions (in the future), but right now the solutions given to use would resemble a cup of water to look after a house that is burning down,” said Rick Bergman, chair of the Canadian Pork Council.
There is $125 million under AgriRecovery to help livestock producers deal with delayed deliveries to processing plants. Some employees at those facilities have contracted COVID-19—reducing or temporarily halting production.
$50 million will go toward a cattle set-a-side program, $50 million for pork producers also dealing with delays and another $25 million to spend in the future. It will also be up to each individual province to decide if it wants to contribute an additional 40 percent through AgriRecovery.
“From the beef industry viewpoint, it falls quite a bit short of what we need to maintain a thriving industry,” said Bob Lowe, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA). “It’s just too little. I won’t say too late, just too little.”
Lowe also worries about the possibility of losing the next generation of cattle producers, similar to what occurred following the BSE crisis in 2003.
“The new people coming along that have the new ideas and want to make things really work are just going to look at it and say ‘well if this is the support we have, there is really no point being in the industry.’ We don’t want that to happen,” Lowe said.
Current beef processing levels are estimated at between 35 and 40 percent of normal.
“At these numbers, it is far short of what the industry has asked for (from government),” said Todd Lewis, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan. “It is a very difficult period. Let’s hope the processing plants can get back and running, take some of these cattle and hogs and mitigate some of the damage.”
Tuesday’s federal announcement also included $77 million for food processors. Part of the money will pay for additional COVID-19 workplace safety changes for employees and some will be earmarked for additional processing capacity.
The final $50 million will go towards a surplus food purchase program. It will attempt to avoid waste by diverting oversupplies of food—such as potatoes and mushrooms–to food banks and other people in need.
