Sask. government asks feds for relief assessment to help livestock producers deal with drought

The continued lack of rain and warm temperatures in many parts of western and southeastern Saskatchewan has the province tapping the federal government for more assistance to help livestock producers.

Provincial Agriculture Minister David Marit penned a letter to his federal counterpart on Monday, asking federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau to consider an AgriRecovery assessment. That allows the federal and provincial governments to evaluate the impacts of natural disasters (such as drought) on producers and to implement initiatives, which includes relief money to offset things like the rising cost of feed.

"Even some of the pastures are starting to brown up and there are concerns about how long they will be able to carry the livestock that's in there," Marit told CBC News on Tuesday afternoon.

"This is a very stressful time."

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada confirmed with CBC News on Wednesday morning that it has received the province's letter and said it is now working with Saskatchewan to proceed with the next steps of the AgriRecovery assessment, including creating a federal-provincial task team that jointly looks at the extent of the disaster and follows up with producers.

Marit said he plans to further discuss the situation with Bibeau when he travels to New Brunswick this week for the annual conference of federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture in Fredericton.

The province's request for an AgriRecovery assessment is welcome news to Garner Deobald, a rancher in southwest Saskatchewan and the president of the Saskatchewan Stockgrowers Association, which represents ranchers in the province.

He said the situation is so dire that he's heard of some fellow livestock producers having to sell or cull part of their herds, due to a lack of hay or grass.

"Most of us can manage a year or two of drought. But after that, it really becomes very difficult and the options that you have as far as maintaining cow herds are very limited," Deobald explained, noting some ranchers have been dealing with these conditions for more than five years.

"It's really taking its toll."

Deobald said having an AgriRecovery assessment — on top of last week's move by both levels of government and the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation, which allows low-yielding crops to be diverted into feed — would be meaningful for producers.

"In the end, you just have nowhere else to turn, and so that little bit of help will get us through," he said. 

"Hopefully, if the weather cooperates, next year will be better."

Beef prices on the rise

The drought conditions in much of southern Saskatchewan are also having an impact at grocery stores across the country.

Sylvain Charlebois, the director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, said the price of beef (with the exception of ground beef) has risen by 25 per cent in the last month — the highest jump since 2014.

"To feed livestock got really more expensive this year because of weather conditions, and ranchers tend to get rid of inventory when feed costs go up," he explained.

"It's always the same thing; they'll see when exactly is the optimal time for them to get rid of their stock. And that's what happened."

Feed prices aside, Charlebois said the cost of ranching on the Prairies has recently gone up significantly in general.

"We lose ranchers every single year, and so that's not uncommon," he said.

Comparing the first quarter of this year to 2022, Statistics Canada shows input costs to raise cattle in Saskatchewan have spiked by 33 per cent.  

Deobald said, for many ranchers, it's the passion for the lifestyle and the generational family ties that keep them going.

"It's a huge investment that everybody's invested in very much. You just can't walk away from it, so you keep trying," he said.

"We love what we do."