Excess Moisture Program needed for hay and pasture

The deadline has passed for putting in an application under the Excess Moisture Program.  As the flood of last minute applications are processed, it should give a picture of exactly how many crop acres were unseeded and how many seeded acres were flooded. This $30 an acre federal / provincial program has been relatively easy to administer and most of the money seems to have been distributed in a timely manner. Some cattle producers are continuing their lobbying effort for similar treatment. In a lot of areas, hay and forage production has never been greater, but in some northeastern and east central regions, the moisture has been so extreme that cattle producers are facing a difficult situation. Fields have been too wet to bale, graze or silage. Bales that were rolled up are now sitting in water and overall feed quality is very poor. Most cattle producers will also tell you that their reference margin is so low that the AgriStability program is of no benefit. It’s a reasonable request for flooded grazing and hay land to be treated in a similar way to the Excess Moisture Program on cropland. I’m Kevin Hursh.