2023 Canada – Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance

Applications for the 2023 Canada-Alberta Livestock are now available on AFSC Connect  (https://afsc.ca/login/ ). The 2023 Canada-Alberta Livestock Assistance initiative compensates Alberta’s livestock producers for the extraordinary costs incurred due to changing management practices from drought and extreme high temperatures in 2023.  Eligible Participants can apply for a Feed assistance payment of up to $150 per animal based on a feed need calculation, with Proof of Extraordinary Expenses incurred due to drought conditions between June 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, and a minimum of 15 Eligible Animals per category of livestock existing on hand as of December 31, 2023.  In addition, producers need to have more than 21 days between June 1, 2023 and October 31, 2023 where grazing practices were altered due to drought conditions. 

Eligible producers must reside or have pasture (rented, leased or owned) within specific drought impacted area (see https://afsc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023-CADLA-Eligible-Geographic-Municipalities.pdf).  

The deadline for applications is midnight January 15, 2024. 

To be eligible to participate in the Program, animals must meet all of the following criteria:

·         Are females that have been bred within the 2023 calendar year; and

·         Are grazing animals, being: Beef/Bison; Horses (Horses used for pleasure, rodeo stock, race horses and working ranch horses are not considered eligible); Water Buffalo; Elk/Yak/Musk Ox; Deer/Llamas; Sheep/Goats/Alpacas; Homestead Grazing Pigs (limited to Kunekune breed).

Including but not limited to the following are acceptable proof of expenses that can be validated as Extraordinary Costs:

·         Purchases of hay/greenfeed bales;

·         Purchase of pitted/bagged silage/haylage;

·         Custom transport of feed or livestock;

·         Self-hauled transport of feed or livestock;

·         Baled additional forage land of owned land (self or custom harvested);

·         Baled cereal crops of owned land (self or custom harvested);

·         Rented additional pasture land between May 1-October 31;

·         Purchased standing hay land for baling (self or custom harvested);

·         Purchased additional hay land for haylage (self or custom harvested);

·         Purchased additional cereal cropped land for silage (self or custom harvested);

·         Modifications to alternative land to be grazing suitable. Examples of this include fencing, labour and water provisions for livestock.

·         Usage of on-hand feed as extraordinary measure over and above what would occur in a normal year, to extend pasture grazing

In the application, producers must:

·         Report total eligible breeding livestock inventory on hand at June 1, 2023 and projected animals on hand at December 31, 2023.

·         A Premise ID is required to apply.

·         Applications may be subject to audit