May 4, 2022 - Edmonton, Alberta - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The 2021 growing season was difficult for Alberta producers, but the targeted AgriRecovery initiative was timely and successful.

In response to severe drought conditions last growing season, the governments of Canada and Alberta worked together to develop and deploy an AgriRecovery initiative, which helped thousands of livestock producers cover their extraordinary costs. The responses were administered through Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC).

Canada-Alberta Livestock Feed Assistance Initiative

The 2021 Canada-Alberta Livestock Feed Assistance Initiative provided support and cash flow for Alberta's livestock producers and beekeepers to help them address the unexpected costs to feed livestock caused by prolonged dry weather and extreme high temperatures.

The initial response paid out more than $180 million on more than 14,000 applications for more than 2.1 million animals.

The second phase of this initiative provided continued assistance to eligible Alberta producers hit hard by the 2021 drought. As of April 19, the program had paid out nearly $172 million on more than 11,300 applications.

Together, the initial and secondary payments have already put more than $350 million into the hands of producers to help them address the extraordinary costs incurred feeding their livestock during the 2021 drought.

The Alberta government and AFSC worked closely with key industry stakeholders to develop a timely response that delivered the support producers needed, when they needed it. The 2021 drought had significant impacts on the province's producers and the response ensured that Alberta farmers and ranchers were supported through these extreme conditions. The AgriRecovery response helped producers recover business costs that are beyond what is covered through other financial assistance or business risk management programs.

AgriRecovery

AgriRecovery is a federal-provincial-territorial disaster relief framework to help agricultural producers with the extraordinary costs associated with recovering from natural disasters. Eligible costs are supported on the 60-40 cost-shared federal-provincial basis outlined under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

The AgriRecovery framework is part of a suite of Business Risk Management tools under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.