Livestock producers in Alberta are getting another chance to apply to receive drought recovery support.

The 2023 Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance initiative has been expanded to include 23 new regions for eligibility and the deadline to apply has been extended.

For livestock producers that had to alter their grazing practices for more than 21 days this season are able to apply for financial assistance to help cover the costs incurred to maintain and manage female breeding animals.

The livestock included under this initiative are cattle, bison, horses, elk, sheep, goats, alpacas, yak, musk ox, deer, water buffalo, and llamas.

But a minimum of 15 animals per breed are required to qualify.

"We’ve seen a high uptake for this AgriRecovery initiative across the province. I’m pleased Alberta’s government was able to work with the federal government to expand this financial support to additional regions impacted by severe drought and extreme heat conditions. I will continue to look out for the interests of our hard-working livestock producers," explained Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation R.J. Sigurdson in a media release on January 25th.

Applications will reopen on January 29th and will run until February 22nd.

Livestock producers who were already eligible prior to this expansion are still able to apply.

Those who apply may receive up to $150 per head.

In the media release, the federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay stated that they are updating the designated regions for the 2023 Livestock Tax Deferral, in order to give more livestock producers the support they need.

Under the Livestock Tax Deferral provision, farmers who sell part of their breeding herd because of either flooding or drought in a designated flood or drought region are allowed to defer a portion of sale proceed to the following year.

If the breeding herd was reduced between 15 per cent and 30 per cent, 30 per cent of the income from the net sales can be deferred to the following year.

Whereas, if the breeding herd was reduced by more than 30 per cent, 90 per cent of the income from the net sales can be deferred to the following year.

AgriRecovery falls under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, which is a $3.5 billion, five-year investment by federal, provincial, and territorial governments to improve resiliency, competitiveness, and innovation in the agriculture sector, and will run until March 31, 2028.

For more information on if you qualify or on how to apply, check out the AgriRecovery website.

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