REGINA — In the hardest hit regions of Saskatchewan, heatwaves, limited rain, minimal spring runoff and successive years of dry conditions are all contributing to significant challenges for producers. Concerns include water quantity, access to feed and large grasshopper infestations.
As of June 30, western and southeastern regions of Saskatchewan received well below-normal precipitation while temperatures have also been significantly warmer than normal.
As a result. Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit has requested the federal government conduct an AgriRecovery assessment to determine what assistance could be provided to livestock producers faced with prolonged dry conditions.
In a letter sent to Ottawa July 17, Saskatchewan also requested an early designation of the federal Livestock Tax Deferral Program, to provide producers facing potential feed shortages with more options as they consider if they need to liquidate part of their breeding herd due to drought.
AgriRecovery is a federal-provincial disaster relief framework focused on extraordinary costs producers face to recover from disasters.
Last week, the federal and provincial governments also announced that Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) is implementing measures to offer support to Saskatchewan livestock producers by allowing additional acres of low-yielding cereal, pulse crops, canola and flax to be diverted to feed.
Saskatchewan has also frozen the 2023 rate charged to producers who lease Crown grazing land. Additionally, through the 2023 Crown Grazing Lease Rental Reduction Program, lessees may be eligible for a rent reduction in situations where they reduce stocking rates on leases by 20 per cent or more below the rated carrying capacity.
