The Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) is calling on the Government of Manitoba to eliminate the $2 per head check-off collected on sales of Manitoba cattle that is currently going to the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council (MCEC).
The call from the Manitoba Beef Producers has been prompted by an announcement by the Government of Canada that $10 million in federal slaughter improvement funds, expected by MCEC’s Keystone Processors slaughter project, has been re-allocated to hog processing.
“MCEC has collected millions of dollars from Manitoba’s beef producers,” noted Major Jay Fox, MBP President. “To date those funds have not expanded Manitoba’s slaughter facilities and have not benefited Manitoba’s beef producers. We are disappointed that this effort to expand beef processing in Manitoba has not been successful and it is unfortunate that federal funds are moving outside of the beef industry. However, it is time to stop throwing good money after bad and end this tax on farmers.”
“Beef Producers in Manitoba are currently facing some of the most difficult times in recent memory”, continued Fox. “Ongoing floods and excessive moisture and the lingering market impacts of the BSE crisis have put many beef families on the financial edge. The funds currently collected by MCEC would be put to far better use if the Government of Manitoba were to immediately end the $2 per head MCEC tax and let these farm families keep these badly needed funds in their own pockets.”
