Agriculture Minister David Marit visited the Maple Creek area yesterday, where he announced $119 million in AgriRecovery funding for the province's livestock producers that have been severely impacted by the drought.
Marit says the program which will be delivered through Saskatchewan Crop Insurance will provide a per head payment to help maintain breeding stock.
"We announced the $100 a head for the livestock sector here in the Province of Saskatchewan to help in any way they can. And that's why it's on a per head on breeding stock, the $100 would be paid out to the livestock producers to be able to use that money how they see fit, if they need it for water, if they need it for feed, or if they need it for other uses."
He notes in addition to cattle producers the funding will also be available for other ruminants such as bison, sheep and goats.
The amount of the per head payment will be finalized pending federal agreement.
The province has asked Ottawa to provide $178 million dollars in federal funding, which would mean a total program of $278 million dollars for Saskatchewan.
With full federal participation, producers would see the per head payment for breeding stock increase to $200 per head.
The province says a portion of the funding would be provided as an immediate per head payment with the remaining amount issued later in the fiscal year based on year-end herd numbers.
The province plans to issue an initial payment of $100 per breeding female, with the remainder being available when the agreement is finalized and after confirmation the breeding herd is retained.
Ottawa previously announced a commitment of $100 million in Federal AgriRecovery dollars to be shared across all affected provinces.
Minister Bibeau noted they are working with the provinces to respond to the drought as quickly as possible, and are ready to seek further funding as needed.
Marit is encouraging producers to explore previously announced programs to see what might be a fit in their operations.
Saskatchewan previously announced temporary increases in the maximum rebates for livestock producers under the Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program for dugouts, wells and pipelines for agricultural use, from $50,000 to $150,000.
In addition to the AgriRecovery program, the Governments of Saskatchewan and Canada previously announced an increase to the 2021 AgriStability interim benefit payment percentage from 50 per cent to 75 per cent, so producers can access a larger portion of their final AgriStability benefit early.
Saskatchewan also introduced changes to the Crop Insurance Program to divert low-yielding crops to feed use.
Marit is encouraging crop producers to consider how these changes could work for their operation and enable them to help a neighbour.
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