Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) is renewing calls for a comprehensive strategy to help producers deal with the lingering impact of this year’s flooding and excess moisture conditions.
“It is clear that many of our producers will be well short of the hay and feed they’ll need to get through the winter,” said MBP President Heinz Reimer. “Producers are having to make alternate plans to get them through what many are forecasting to be another difficult winter and MBP is concerned these plans could include herd downsizing or producers exiting the industry outright.”
MBP has been speaking regularly with Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn and his officials about the severity of the feed shortfall in some regions of the province. Among the most pressing items is the need for forage shortfall and transportation assistance programs to help producers source needed feed for the winter.
Along with seeking programming to ensure affected producers can access the needed feed, MBP has also lobbied the federal government for a livestock tax deferral for producers forced to sell their breeding stock due to feed shortages.
MBP is also seeking improvements to business risk management programs, including forage insurance, to ensure they are more responsive to producers’ needs. Additionally, MBP is advocating for more effective water management strategies, including a second outlet out of Lake Manitoba.
Along with taking these concerns to the both levels of government, MBP continues to meet with and speak to producers who have been hit hard by flooding, losing productive capacity on thousands of acres of valuable pasture and hay land. Many of the producers say they are frustrated with a lack of action from the government and need movement soon or they will be forced into tough decisions such as reducing their herds.
“Any contraction in cattle numbers will only serve to damage the beef industry and, by extension, Manitoba’s economy,” Reimer said. “With so many positive announcements in recent months around increased market access for Canadian beef, we need immediate action to ensure Manitoba producers are able to take full advantage of these opportunities and continue to build a strong and prosperous industry.”
