Submitted:
With the Dec. 31 deadline just weeks away, area livestock producers need to act quickly to qualify for their second installment of provincial funding set to hit the mail starting in late January.
The money - part of a $300 million transition fund called the Alberta Farm Recovery Plan II (AFRP II) - will help beef, hog and other livestock producers across Alberta, whose industries have been battered by a perfect storm of low livestock prices, high input costs, and until recently, a strong Canadian dollar.
“We want to make sure all livestock producers are aware of the eligibility requirements that must be met by Dec. 31 to qualify for the funding - so they don’t miss out,” says Vicki Chapman, a customer service manager with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), the provincial Crown corporation administering the payments on behalf of Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD). The payments will be the second and final batch of cheques issued under AFRP II, since the program was announced in June.
To qualify for the funding, all Alberta livestock producers must complete a new updated Premise Identification (PID) form, providing ARD with the location of their home quarter, the type of operation and animals they own, and their maximum livestock capacity.
Beef producers must verify the age of all calves born in 2008 by recording each animal’s ear tag number and the dates that calving started and ended on the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency’s (CCIA) online database. Feedlot owners with more than 5,000 animals must sign a declaration agreeing to track the movement of live cattle in and out of their feedlots starting Jan. 1, 2009.
Beef producer Ed Rice says complying with the AFRP II funding requirements has been relatively easy. “Age verifying calves is just part of our routine; we’ve been able to do it without much trouble. Premise ID is quite simple, too,” he says, adding that building a traceability system will likely strengthen the industry in the long run. “It will allow packers to export more beef, and that’s good for everyone.”
Rice and his brother run an 80-head cow-calf operation, along with a feedlot and back grounding business near Lacombe. “We haven’t been hit as hard as some farmers, but this money is a welcome thing in our industry. Cattle prices are still very similar to what we were getting during BSE. And now, input costs have gone way up. Every little bit helps.”
Chapman says any questions about how to age verify cattle, or how to fill out the PID forms can be answered by calling 310-FARM, the provincial government’s Ag-Info Centre. “They can put you in touch with more than 60 ARD and CCIA employees who are out there helping producers age verify, giving them free access to electronic ear tag readers, and inputting the data onto computers for them.”
Once producers have met all the eligibility requirements, they must sign a Statement of Compliance form verifying they’ve done so. While the deadline to meet the funding requirements is Dec. 31, producers have until Jan. 31 to send in their Statements of Compliance, explains Chapman. These forms have been mailed to producers, and are available at www.afsc.ca.