“Addressing loss of summer livestock feed due to wildfire”
The program is meant to support commercial livestock businesses in the response stage i.e., as they respond to the threats and impacts of wildfire and transition to a revised operational strategy. The program will provide emergency feed support for up to 14 days to facilitate those transitions and/or to continue to respond to wildfire related activities. Extensions will be considered upon request and granted pending review by the Agriculture Program Team.
The program is meant to provide feed for commercial livestock businesses in situations where due to wildfire and related activities:
a) they cannot access their normal forage/feed supply, and
b) in order to keep their livestock safe, they are forced to use forage or feed resources that are normally required to feed livestock through the rest of their yearly production cycle.
Hay and feed resources supplied by this program are not to be stockpiled. This support is intended for the approved 14-day timeframe to provide the farm business with time to find alternatives while supporting immediate livestock health and welfare without depleting fall/winter feed. Businesses are encouraged to begin transition planning as soon as possible.
This program is not intended to supersede other response strategies, such as farm/ranch emergency plans or the livestock relocation program. Provision of feed for livestock will require that the feeding and forage storage locations are safe, feed transportation can be done in a safe manner and livestock caregivers are secure.
The program provides feed for the livestock being housed based upon standard animal consumption levels and does not provide reimbursement for field, storage or other loses (i.e., Forage production setbacks due to untimely grazing).
This program is NOT a feed supply program to address drought conditions.
Program access is initiated by the farm business by requesting assistance through the local EOC (Emergency Operation Centre), agreeing to program conditions, providing and validating the necessary information and ongoing communication with the program’s staff.
Note:
This program is distinct from the Livestock Relocation Program, consequently livestock engaged in one program cannot also receive duplicate support from the other program.
Each application will be adjudicated based on each situation.
Be aware that being located within an evacuation alert or order area does not automatically make you eligible for the program.
Agriservice B.C.
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