More Federal Funding for Hay West Initiative

Dec 16, 2021

The federal government on Wednesday announced additional funding to keep much-needed hay flowing from eastern Canada to drought-hit producers in northern Ontario and across the Prairies.

Through its Hay West 2021 initiative, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is connecting farmers in the east with western and northern Ontario farmers in need of feed. Meanwhile, Ottawa and corporate sponsors are helping to offset the freight costs to transport hay between those farmers.

In September, the government approved $1 million for the initiative, which has already helped transport approximately 150 shipments (5.6 million pounds) of hay to feed 16,750 cattle. Over the coming months, up to $3 million in additional funding will continue to support the movement of hay across the country, according to a federal release.

“The impact of the 2021 drought has been devastating and the need for hay and funding for this program will continue until pastures are available in mid-2022,” said CFA President Mary Robinson. “CFA will continue to seek additional funding from both the government and corporate donors to help move as much hay as possible, and to save as many animals as possible over the coming months.”

The Hay West 2021 initiative uses an electronic virtual exchange service to facilitate buying and selling transactions and minimize these time consuming activities for producers. It is operating on a break-even basis, with hay being purchased from eastern Canadian farmers and resold at cost to western Canadian recipients. The program is also expected to help protect the future herd in Western Canada by providing as much hay as possible to breeding stock impacted by persistent drought in the region.

In response to this year’s historic drought – the worst in more than 60 years – Ottawa and the governments of B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario have jointly came together to make available up to $825 million in cost-shared AgriRecovery disaster relief funding.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

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That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.