Crown land grazing rates frozen in Saskatchewan

Farmers and ranchers who lease roughly six million acres of Crown land under grazing leases will pay the same rate as last year.

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said producers leasing Crown grazing land will be eligible for rent reductions if they are forced to move cattle due to dry conditions during the grazing season.

“If some of the pasture patrons and leaseholders, whether it’s on Crown land, private lease or community pasture, if they pull some animals off, then we will cut the lease rate by that number, up to a maximum of 50 per cent,” Marit said.

Saskatchewan’s livestock sector is facing increasing costs of production in addition to successive years of low precipitation in many areas of the province, according to Marit.