Beef cattle roam in a field on a farm in the Alder Ridge area west of High Prairie. Producers are concerned about rising costs and restricted markets.

Richard Froese
South Peace News
Farmers are concerned the agricultural industry will be hurt by restrictions of the new president of the United States and other rising costs from government.

“As always, trade plays a large part in agriculture’s success,” says Roland Cailliau of Valleyview, and new vice-chair of the Alberta Beef Producers.
“The move by President Donald Trump to pull the USA out of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement has for all intents and purposes left that agreement dead in the water and with it the extra trade the Canadian beef industry would have enjoyed in Japan and certain Asian countries.”

Trade will be one of the major topics for all Canadians in agriculture in the upcoming years, he says.

Farmers are also getting hit by the new provincial carbon tax that started Jan. 1.

“On the supply side of our operations we are seeing extra costs being incurred with the imposition of the carbon tax,” Cailliau says.
“Yes, fuel used on the farm is exempt but the agricultural community depends greatly on all modes of public transportation and the tax will end up on our ledgers.”

The tax portion of all products consumed by agriculture that have an energy component in their manufacture will also become an item on producers’ expense sheets.

Low cattle prices have also hurt producers.

“Whereas the beef industry had extremely satisfying profits two years ago, the markets changed course for us last fall and cow-calf producers’ profit margins were dramatically reduced,” Cailliau says.
“Over the course of the winter the markets have corrected themselves and are now more favourable.”

Recently, the Government of Alberta announced that it will provide an additional $72 million for agriculture-related spending such as income support to producers affected by low cattle prices.

Unfavorable weather has also hampered farmers.

The poor weather last fall left a sizeable percentage of grain producers with crops unharvested and many with extra costs incurred in their harvest.

“It is a challenge to market much of the poor quality that was harvested,” Cailliau says.
“For cattle producers, it has provided us with lots of feed and good moisture going into spring.
“If average rainfall is experienced this year without any major one-time weather events, producers could expect a reasonably good crop.”

While agriculture depends on employed labour, Cailliau says it is imperative that all levels of government understand the farmers rely much on workers from immigration and programs for foreign workers, and should be supported and not restricted.