SARM seeks support from Sask. government after wildfire

Nov 01, 2017

Farmers in recovery mode following devastating fire

Staff Reporter

Farms.com

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) will ask the provincial government to provide additional support for farmers affected by the fire.

Two weeks ago, 34,000 hectares of southwest Saskatchewan went up in flames. The fire left around 770 cattle dead and many farmland assets, such as barns and storage bins, destroyed. As a result, some farmers are forced to rebuild, according to yesterday’s Regina Leader-Post article.

But the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program does not currently cover losses caused by fires or fire-related costs.

“We want to try and be able to understand why that is and perhaps maybe that’s something that could be included,” Ray Orb, SARM president, said in the article. This issue will be discussed at the SARM midterm convention next week.

Farmers are in the initial stages of recovering from the expansive damages.

“It’s completely devastating to the producers and I think they’re just starting to come to grips with the loss,” Chad MacPherson, general manager of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, said in the article.

In the first week, the association’s wildfire relief campaign raised about $200,000 in donations of money, feed, hay, labour, fencing materials and trucking services, the article stated. Previous coverage of the association’s fundraising efforts can be found here.

Despite the devastation, communities are rallying and supporting each other through this difficult time.

There have been large crowds at fundraising events and Justin LaBrash, a Saskatchewan country artist, is playing in Cabri on Saturday night to raise money for those affected by the wildfire. More information on the event can be found here.

It will be a long and expensive road to full recovery, however. Fencing costs more than $5,000 per mile and farmers lost over $1 million worth of cattle, according to Macpherson. Also, the scorched pasture land may take up to three years to replenish.

Soil erosion has also been an issue. Fertile topsoil is blowing off fields because of the dry and windy conditions, Orb said. Farmers are doing what they can to preserve the soil.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.