Photo from CHAT News

By Jayson Taylor

Alberta government to beef up access to capital for livestock producers

Jul 10, 2023 | 3:40 PM

EDMONTON – The provincial government announced on Monday that it is working on ensuring that Alberta’s cattle sector can continue to grow and remain competitive.

Amendments to the Feeder Associations Guarantee Regulation will give feeder association members more options to purchase and market livestock, as well as generate better cashflow for their operations.

Beef is Alberta’s largest agri-food export and raising loan limits will ensure that the province’s cattle producers are able to continue producing the beef that Alberta is internationally famous for.

The changes raise individual and joint membership loan limits from $2 million to $3 million, this excludes advances.

“Feeder associations are an essential part of Alberta’s livestock industry and are a proven way to support new entrants in primary agriculture. These amendments ensure thousands of producers across the province have access to the capital they need to keep producing Alberta’s world-renowned beef,” Minister of Agriculture RJ Sigurdson said in a statement.

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Cattle prices have increased by 25 per cent since the start of 2023 and are expected to keep on rising, and the government says that livestock producers are in greater need of easily accessible, low-interest capital backed by a government guarantee.

Alberta’s Feeder Associations Loan Guarantee Program aims to help local, producer-run cooperatives get competitive financing to ensure that they can continue to be a player in the global market.

“These changes will help to ensure continued sustainable growth in Alberta’s livestock feeding sector, providing much-needed support to our existing feeder members while making this capital-intensive business more viable and accessible to new entrants and young farmers in the current market environment,” chair of the Feeder Associations of Alberta Philipp Lammerding said on Monday.

Full details can be found online at the Government of Alberta.