Canadian cattle industry receives over $4 million in federal investment

The Canadian cattle industry will receive a $4.4 million boost in federal investments.

Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities and Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre, Kent Hehr, was in Calgary to announce the funding on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, who was in New Orleans.

“Our government’s targeted investments in these agricultural projects will help the sector build on its competitive strengths, leading to greater returns for our farmers and their families, here in Alberta and across the country, and ensure continued growth of the middle class,” said Hehr.

Roughly half of the investment will go towards the following projects:

• Alberta Beef Producers ($901,240) – to develop satellite data to “help improve forage insurance.”
• Canadian Cattlemen’s Association ($839,485) – to explore the role remote sensing could have in insuring forage crops.

“Pasture is the lifeblood of the beef cattle industry and when things go wrong, rapid response and alternatives for feeding the cow herd must be timely,” said Rob McNabb, general manager for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “Using satellite measurements on a very localized scale, predictions of pasture productivity field by field, week by week, will be a significant tool for producers’ risk management on a yearly basis.”

• Canadian Angus Association ($225,000) – to develop tools to improve breeding cattle.
• National Cattle Feeders Association ($205,000) – to develop and implement a national feedlot animal care asessment program.

Remaining funds — just over $2.2 million — will support projects involving market development, emergency planning, competitive pricing, animal care assessments and farm software development.

This investment is being made under Growing Forward 2.

Editor’s note: We have reached out to the four organizations listed for further comment, and will update as we hear back.