Assistance package for cattle industry

Business risk management programming under the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) would provide dependable support, helping producers to manage small and large fluctuations in income caused by any number of risks, including those posed by Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).

The loss of export markets for the cattle and beef industry following the discovery of a single cow with BSE in Alberta, however, required a national response prior to the new programming coming into effect. Federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture announced temporary measures on June 18 to help bridge the gap until producers can access the new business risk management programming.

The assistance of up to $460 million to help offset the impact of border closures will be cost-shared by the federal government and participating provinces and territories on a 60–40 basis. The package has two key elements:

• Measures allowing producers to receive payments for cattle owned as of May 20, 2003, that have subsequently been sold for slaughter in Canada. The assistance will help compensate producers when the price of cattle falls below a reference price, based on market value in the United States. Details are being worked out to extend the program benefits to producers of other ruminants.
  
  
• Incentives to processors to sell or otherwise move out of inventory surplus meat cuts of low value that have little domestic demand, which were produced after May 20. This will free up storage space, restoring the capacity of processors to serve the domestic market.

Payments will be treated as farm income and included in the producer's reference margin under the business risk management programming.

Producers and processors in participating provinces and territories can receive more information on how to access the assistance package’s funding by contacting the local agriculture office of their provincial or territorial government.