The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association welcomes today’s announcement by the Government of Saskatchewan that it will provide assistance to purchase feed for farmers and ranchers who lost grazing in this fall’s catastrophic wildfires in the province’s southwest. The government will be administering the assistance through the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP).
In September, a grassfire near Glentworth damaged approximately 3,500 acres, and in October fires near Burstall, Leader and Tompkins destroyed 80,000 acres of cropland and pastureland.
“This assistance through the PDAP will provide welcome relief for producers,” said Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) President Shane Jahnke. “We thank the provincial government for recognizing the need and making this assistance available.”
“The drought in southern Saskatchewan has already led to feed shortages,” Jahnke added. “It will be very expensive to replace the winter feed lost in the wildfires.”
To be eligible for Provincial Disaster Assistance Program, producers need to be:
Damages must have occurred in a rural municipality that has been designated as eligible for PDAP assistance.
The annual gross revenues for the agricultural operation must be at least $4,000 but not more than $2.0 million.
2016 Income must show income from livestock.
The claimant must be the titled owner of the damaged pasture land.
The SSGA continues to work with the Government of Saskatchewan and producers on additional wildfire assistance and on the development of a forage fire insurance program to protect producers from similar disasters in the future.
