Maritime beef producers get price protection

Beef producers in the Maritime provinces will get the price protection tool they’ve advocated for for years.

Producers in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and soon Nova Scotia, will have access to a program that will allow them to purchase insurance on price protection for their beef cattle in case of an unforeseen market disruption.

The Maritime Livestock Price Insurance Pilot Program will be a two-year pilot project.

The lack of a program has meant more risk for Maritime beef farmers and challenges for young farmers to get bank loans without a way to mitigate that risk.

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British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba all have the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program. Ontario has a Risk Management Program and Quebec has its Programme d’assurance stabilisation des revenus agricoles (ASRA).

The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) “has long been advocating for an expansion to LPI (livestock production insurance) in the Maritimes given that producers in the region have been operating without this viable risk management tool,” said Nathan Phinney, CCA president and a beef producer in the Maritimes.

“The announcement by Minister MacAulay and his Maritime provincial counterparts is welcome news following the momentum built at last year’s Federal, Provincial and Territorial Agriculture Ministers’ meeting in Fredericton.”

The announced pilot project follows years of advocacy by both CCA and the Canadian Cattle Youth Council, following the implementation of LPI in the western provinces. LPI is a valuable tool for beef cattle producers in navigating uncertainty and risks related to adverse weather events. It is also critical for those entering the sector or looking to expand their operations.

“While the announcement of a pilot in the Maritime region is a step in the right direction, it needs to last longer than two years to impact longer term farm planning,” said Scott Gerbrandt, president of the Canadian Cattle Youth Council.

The program is funded by both federal and provincial governments.

“The livestock industry on PEI is such an important part of our farming ecosystem. Supporting this sector will assist in its advancement, and ultimately growth for the greater agricultural community,” said Bloyce Thompson, PEI deputy premier and minister of Agriculture.

How it works

Through the new initiative, purchasers pay 100 per cent of the premiums while both federal and provincial governments are making investments to administer the pilot program for producers.

On PEI, the Maritime Livestock Price Insurance Pilot Program will be administered by the Prince Edward Island Agricultural Insurance Corporation.

For more information on the Maritime Livestock Price Insurance Pilot Program visit, www.princeedwardisland.ca/MLPIPP.