Agriculture Minister Pleased with Initial Programs for Livestock Sector

A recent announcement regarding programs for cattle and hog producers is good news and a good start to help the industry, said Agriculture Minister Brooke Taylor today, Dec. 21.

On Wednesday, Dec. 19, the ministers of agriculture from federal, provincial and territorial governments announced the first stage in a national plan to help livestock producers through a difficult financial time.

"There are several programs to help producers and I encourage all of our producers to access them," said Mr. Taylor. "We also know there are programs that may not fit everyone's situation and that we will have to look at different options."

The programs available to give producers assistance in the short term are AgriStability, with interim payments and targeted advances; AgriInvest, including the federal $600 million Kickstart program; and an improved Advance Payments Program.

"We will meet with our producers and see what programs worked for them and what programs did not. Then, we can look to developing new programs," said Mr. Taylor.

The agriculture ministers committed to working with industry to examine the existing programs to ensure they continue to work for all stakeholders. The next meeting is planned for early 2008.