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<blockquote data-quote="R. John Johnson" data-source="post: 575549" data-attributes="member: 7493"><p>In case anyone wonders WTF, here is an article from last Wednesday's Winnipeg Free Press.</p><p></p><p>'It's a desperate situation out there right now'</p><p></p><p>SWAMPED hay fields are the final straw for an untold number of Interlake cattle producers who are planning to liquidate their cow herds this fall.</p><p></p><p>Still recovering from the BSE crisis and a downturn in calf prices, the farmers say they cannot afford to buy hay to replace crops that were drowned out this summer.</p><p></p><p>The province's agriculture minister, Rosann Wowchuk, estimated Tuesday that as many as 2,000 farm families, particularly in the cattle business, have been affected to varying degrees by excess rainfall this year.</p><p></p><p>The final straw, for many, was the downpour this past weekend that saw as much as 100 millimetres fall on already waterlogged fields.</p><p></p><p>"We maybe cut one-fifth the amount of hay we need," said Ralph Hazelton, an Inwood cattle producer, who figures he would have to spend $40,000 to buy enough feed to overwinter his 130-cow breeding herd.</p><p></p><p>But the 62-year-old isn't prepared to invest that kind of money when calf prices are low.</p><p></p><p>"To borrow more money to feed cattle would be just ridiculous," Hazelton said Tuesday, adding he intends to get rid of 90 per cent of his breeding herd.</p><p></p><p>Others intend to do the same thing.</p><p></p><p>Buddy Bergner, an auctioneer and part-time manager of the Ashern Auction Mart, said he fears that many producers will sell a good portion of their herds because of the feed shortage.</p><p></p><p>"You're going to see a lot of (producers) -- they're going to cull a third, maybe some of them are going to cull as high as half their herds."</p><p></p><p>Bergner knows of one Fisher Branch operator, about 50 years old, who is putting his entire herd of 400 cows up for auction in early October. Another producer is ready to sell off 150 breeding animals immediately, but can't transport them because of the weather, he said.</p><p></p><p>"We had 3.3 inches (83 mm) since Saturday night and it's still pouring rain right now," Bergner said Tuesday morning.</p><p></p><p>Conservative agriculture critic Ralph Eichler (Lakeside), whose riding extends into the Interlake, plans to tour several affected communities, including Arborg, Riverton and Fisher Branch, with party Leader Hugh McFadyen today. Eichler said he's been "inundated with calls" over the last few days from worried cattle producers whose ou livelihoods are in jeopardy.</p><p></p><p>"It's a desperate situation out there right now," he said Tuesday.</p><p></p><p>The provincial Conservatives are calling on the federal and Manitoba governments to come to the aid of affected cattle producers by covering some of their input costs and allowing them to defer income from herd liquidation for up to two years. With the latter measure, farmers would have two years to restock their herds before being hit with a tax bill on the sale of their animals.</p><p></p><p>At this point, Eichler said, it's unclear how many producers will have to liquidate their herds, but it's obvious there is "a substantial amount of hurt out there."</p><p></p><p>Wowchuk recently announced a freight assistance program for producers who are forced to buy hay more than 40 kilometres from their farms.</p><p></p><p>She said Tuesday that she's been working with federal officials on a tax deferral plan in case of herd sell-offs. The only hitch so far is that such programs have only applied in the past to producers who were short of feed due to drought -- not flooding. So the rules will need to be amended.</p><p></p><p>"We have begun that discussion with the federal government," Wowchuk said.</p><p></p><p>Joe Bouchard, a Fisher Branch cattle producer, said he will likely harvest only half of a normal hay crop this year. Fortunately, he said, he has a "fair bit" of carryover feed from previous years, so his operation may be able to get by without buying any more.</p><p></p><p>Complicating matters, he said, is that many cattle producers kept their calves on feed longer last fall and this spring -- rather than selling them -- in the hope that market prices would improve.</p><p></p><p>"So I would say that the majority of guys were going into this haying (season) with lower (feed) carryover than normal," he said.</p><p></p><p>According to provincial figures released Tuesday, communities such as Arborg, Eriksdale, Fisher Branch, Gimli and Moosehorn (near Ashern) had received, through Monday, 25 to 44 per cent more rainfall than normal since April 1</p><p></p><p>BTW 25 millimeters is pretty much an inch of rain. We are close to 20 inches since June 5 at our place.</p><p></p><p>John</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="R. John Johnson, post: 575549, member: 7493"] In case anyone wonders WTF, here is an article from last Wednesday's Winnipeg Free Press. 'It's a desperate situation out there right now' SWAMPED hay fields are the final straw for an untold number of Interlake cattle producers who are planning to liquidate their cow herds this fall. Still recovering from the BSE crisis and a downturn in calf prices, the farmers say they cannot afford to buy hay to replace crops that were drowned out this summer. The province's agriculture minister, Rosann Wowchuk, estimated Tuesday that as many as 2,000 farm families, particularly in the cattle business, have been affected to varying degrees by excess rainfall this year. The final straw, for many, was the downpour this past weekend that saw as much as 100 millimetres fall on already waterlogged fields. "We maybe cut one-fifth the amount of hay we need," said Ralph Hazelton, an Inwood cattle producer, who figures he would have to spend $40,000 to buy enough feed to overwinter his 130-cow breeding herd. But the 62-year-old isn't prepared to invest that kind of money when calf prices are low. "To borrow more money to feed cattle would be just ridiculous," Hazelton said Tuesday, adding he intends to get rid of 90 per cent of his breeding herd. Others intend to do the same thing. Buddy Bergner, an auctioneer and part-time manager of the Ashern Auction Mart, said he fears that many producers will sell a good portion of their herds because of the feed shortage. "You're going to see a lot of (producers) -- they're going to cull a third, maybe some of them are going to cull as high as half their herds." Bergner knows of one Fisher Branch operator, about 50 years old, who is putting his entire herd of 400 cows up for auction in early October. Another producer is ready to sell off 150 breeding animals immediately, but can't transport them because of the weather, he said. "We had 3.3 inches (83 mm) since Saturday night and it's still pouring rain right now," Bergner said Tuesday morning. Conservative agriculture critic Ralph Eichler (Lakeside), whose riding extends into the Interlake, plans to tour several affected communities, including Arborg, Riverton and Fisher Branch, with party Leader Hugh McFadyen today. Eichler said he's been "inundated with calls" over the last few days from worried cattle producers whose ou livelihoods are in jeopardy. "It's a desperate situation out there right now," he said Tuesday. The provincial Conservatives are calling on the federal and Manitoba governments to come to the aid of affected cattle producers by covering some of their input costs and allowing them to defer income from herd liquidation for up to two years. With the latter measure, farmers would have two years to restock their herds before being hit with a tax bill on the sale of their animals. At this point, Eichler said, it's unclear how many producers will have to liquidate their herds, but it's obvious there is "a substantial amount of hurt out there." Wowchuk recently announced a freight assistance program for producers who are forced to buy hay more than 40 kilometres from their farms. She said Tuesday that she's been working with federal officials on a tax deferral plan in case of herd sell-offs. The only hitch so far is that such programs have only applied in the past to producers who were short of feed due to drought -- not flooding. So the rules will need to be amended. "We have begun that discussion with the federal government," Wowchuk said. Joe Bouchard, a Fisher Branch cattle producer, said he will likely harvest only half of a normal hay crop this year. Fortunately, he said, he has a "fair bit" of carryover feed from previous years, so his operation may be able to get by without buying any more. Complicating matters, he said, is that many cattle producers kept their calves on feed longer last fall and this spring -- rather than selling them -- in the hope that market prices would improve. "So I would say that the majority of guys were going into this haying (season) with lower (feed) carryover than normal," he said. According to provincial figures released Tuesday, communities such as Arborg, Eriksdale, Fisher Branch, Gimli and Moosehorn (near Ashern) had received, through Monday, 25 to 44 per cent more rainfall than normal since April 1 BTW 25 millimeters is pretty much an inch of rain. We are close to 20 inches since June 5 at our place. John [/QUOTE]
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