Coverage under Quebec’s ag income stabilization program (ASRA) for feeder calves and lambs will be weighted more toward market weights in 2012.
La Financiere agricole du Quebec (FADQ), the province’s farm finance agency, on Tuesday announced coverage for both feeders and lambs will be distributed based 25 per cent on the value of the calf or lamb, and 75 per cent on the per-kilogram value of the animal sold.
ASRA compensation for feeder calves in 2011 had been pegged at 33 per cent on the value per cow and 67 per cent on the per-kilogram value. For lambs, the coverage distribution was 66.7 per cent on per-kilogram value and 33.3 per cent on value per ewe.
Read Also
Feed Grains Weekly: Price likely to keep stepping back
As the harvest in southern Alberta presses on, a broker said that is one of the factors pulling feed prices lower in the region. Darcy Haley, vice-president of Ag Value Brokers in Lethbridge, added that lower cattle numbers in feedlots, plentiful amounts of grass for cattle to graze and a lacklustre export market also weighed on feed prices.
The changes follow meetings between FADQ and representatives from affected producer groups and are in response to their concerns over the state of the market, the agency said.
The change also speaks to FADQ’s goal of maintaining income stabilization on offspring rather than on breeding females, the agency added.
The change isn’t expected to have a significant impact on total compensation paid out through ASRA, but is expected to better reflect the characteristics of the types of operations in question, FADQ said.
