Sask. requests federal assistance to help producers recover from drought challenges

The provincial government is taking steps to help farmers across Saskatchewan who have been facing extreme drought conditions.

Agriculture Minister David Marit requested the federal government conduct an AgriRecovery assessment to figure out what help could be given to livestock producers who have been facing drought, according to a release from the province.

“This is the type of situation that this program is triggered for like what it is in place for is catastrophic large scale events that are not covered under the existing business risk management programs,” said Grant McLellan, CEO of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen's Association.

AgriRecovery is a federal-provincial disaster relief plan that focuses on costs producers face to recover from disasters.

"Many producers across Saskatchewan are facing extraordinary costs to ensure their animals are taken care of. We need to move quickly to consider all relief options, including an AgriRecovery assessment to help producers deal with the challenges brought about by drought," Marit said.

Marit sent a letter to Ottawa on July 17 and is hoping to have a one on one discussion with the federal minister as soon as possible.

"Hopefully we can have discussion on the need for this assessment to take place as a result of the feed shortage," he said.

Western and southwestern regions of the province received below normal precipitation and warmer than normal temperatures, as of June 30.

Heatwaves, limited rain, minimal spring runoff and years of dry conditions contributed to the challenges in the hardest hit regions.

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“This needs to be treated as the urgent priority that it is," said NDP MLA Trent Wotherspoon. "Producers are making decisions as we speak, RMs are declaring states of emergency in a growing number of RMs across southwest and west central.”

The province also requested an early designation of the federal Livestock Tax Deferral program, which will give producers more options if they face feed shortages.

The federal and provincial governments also announced that the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation will offer support to producers by allowing additional acres of land to be diverted to feed.