Groups Hopeful Unusable Crops Will Be Made Into Feed

Several groups, including Alberta Beef producers are asking to use crops that won't make it to harvest this fall, to be used as livestock feed.

The chair of the Alberta Beef Producers, Melanie Wowk says a decision on that is needed soon. "We are currently asking the AFSC, they are the ones that deliver the programs such as Agri-stability and Agri-recovery, as well as crop insurance. We are asking that they work with crop producers and their insurance, in order for them to be able to turn some of them crops into cattle feed. These crops will not be harvestable."  Wowk says there's only a 2-week window where the crops will still be salvageable for feed.

Even Finance Minister Travis Towes, who used to be the president of the Canadian Cattlemens Association made mention of the current situation during a news conference last week.

But according to the NDP ag critic Heather Sweet, AFSC has far fewer crop assessors, thanks to a series of budget cuts by the UCP government this year. Sweet told reporters, just when farmers need those services the most, the government has let them down.