Federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers met in Whitehorse, Yukon from July 17 to 19. Photo: Supplied

Ag ministers discuss BRM changes 

Canada’s agriculture ministers wrapped up their annual meeting in Whitehorse Friday saying they continue to look at changes to business risk management programs to make them more responsive.

In early December, the Saskatchewan River was at its second lowest level in the past 23 years.   Photo: Alex McCuaig

Alberta expands livestock drought recovery supports

Only a narrow band of the province remains exempt from the aid program

The 2023 Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance initiative, funded through the AgriRecovery framework by the federal and provincial governments, offers payments of up to $150 per head to livestock producers who have 15 or more animals per type of livestock, and have altered usual grazing practices for more than 21 days due to drought.


Agrirecovery deadline approaches

Agrirecovery deadline approaches

Reading Time: < 1 minute Applications for the 2023 Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance initiative close at midnight Jan. 15. Benefits will be based on a feed-need calculation for feed costs incurred due to lost grazing days for eligible breeding animals on hand as of Dec. 31, 2023.  Eligible producers must: be located (livestock or residence) in specified municipalities; have altered […] Read more



“In CADLA, county boundaries were used to determine drought impact. However, some people in those counties were not impacted by lack of rain. Similarly, many producers outside the established boundary experienced extreme drought.” Brodie Haugan.

Province blames feds for limits to new beef program

Only approved municipalities will benefit from new CADLA program, raising producer ire

Reading Time: 3 minutes The provincial government is blaming the feds for a controversial condition in a new risk management program aimed at beef producers.  The recently-announced Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance (CADLA) program has raised the ire of beef producers across Alberta. They’re unhappy that only growers in certain municipalities (mostly in the northwest and southern ends of the […] Read more

Alberta cattle producers need better business risk management programs that are more timely, says the chair of ABP.

Feed assistance welcome but ‘won’t be enough’

AgriRecovery program comes too late for cattle producers who have already made the tough decisions

Reading Time: 5 minutes Alberta’s cattle industry is in a crisis due to another year of drought, and while the latest AgriRecovery program will help the situation, more is needed to maintain the stability of the sector, according to the vice-chair of Alberta Beef Producers. “It won’t be enough, guaranteed, and for some it’s too late and they won’t […] Read more


The McDougall Creek wildfire burns outside West Kelowna, B.C. on Aug. 18, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)

AgriRecovery feed, freight, breeding herd aid set for Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C.

Feds, provinces announce combined $365 million in aid programs

The federal and Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia governments are jointly putting up $365 million to support ranchers and farmers up against this summer’s drought and wildfire damage. The feds on Friday announced their 60 per cent, or $219 million, share of AgriRecovery program funding for the three westernmost provinces. “I’ve had the opportunity to […] Read more

File photo of farmland around an abandoned farmstead near Swift Current, Sask. (ImagineGolf/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan front-loads AgriRecovery funding

Joint federal-provincial program development still underway

The Saskatchewan government says it will put up to $70 million toward “immediate measures” to support livestock producers, ahead of an expected federal-provincial AgriRecovery program for that purpose. Application forms are expected to be available via Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. (SCIC) “in the coming days” for funding “to help offset extraordinary costs of feeding livestock […] Read more