With one in eight jobs in the province tied to agriculture, the industry is essential for maintaining economic stability and environmental sustainability in rural areas.
Agriculture plays a vital role in Saskatchewan’s economy and is at the heart of rural communities. The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is dedicated to ensuring that producers have the necessary resources to succeed.
“Producers play a pivotal role in the fabric of our province, we can’t deny the frustrations in our agriculture sector with the lack of business risk management resources, particularly for cattle producers in the province. Producers already play the game of risk with weather, disease, feed shortages, and price fluctuations. For the livestock industry to continue to thrive, we need the right business risk management resources tailored to them,” said Bill Huber, Acting President of SARM.
The livestock industry in Saskatchewan has been impacted by droughts, feed shortages, and issues with pricing transparency, leading some producers to leave the industry. As a global leader in agricultural output, Saskatchewan’s products feed the world.
SARM believes it is essential for the government to provide livestock producers with equitable support, similar to what other commodity producers receive.
"The current eight years of drought has exposed the lack of responsive Business Risk Management (BRM) programs for Saskatchewan’s livestock producers. Spotty rains can provide a false sense of security and allow policy makers to delay implementation. If the province of Saskatchewan wants a healthy, thriving beef cattle sector, BRM programs must be addressed now to stem the tide of producers leaving the industry and allow for long-term planning,” said Jeff Yorga, President of Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association.
Agriculture contributed over $13 billion to Saskatchewan’s GDP in 2021 and supports thousands of jobs. SARM is calling for enhanced BRM programs to address challenges like climate variability, market fluctuations, and evolving regulations, ensuring that livestock producers remain a pillar of the province’s prosperity.
To support the livestock industry, SARM suggests several made-in-Saskatchewan solutions, including:
- Cost-shared Livestock Price Insurance
- Fast-tracking the satellite-based forage rainfall pilot
- Implementing Alberta’s beef-focused AgriStability pilot in Saskatchewan
- Accelerating the development of a revenue insurance model with Agriculture Canada
Photo Credit: Pexels Matthias Zomer