The Saskatchewan Government’s decision to provide the use of fixed assets on community pastures such as fences, dugouts and cattle handling facilities to patrons at no cost is “very positive,” but the 15-year lease agreement offered by the government makes pasture grassland very expensive for small cattle producers, said the chair of a farmer-run patrons organization.

Ian McCreary, chair of the Community Pasture Patrons Association of Saskatchewan (CPPAS), said the lease fee requirement of patrons plus taxes they must pay varies between 40 and 50 cents a day per cow/calf payer. He said the lease fee requirement is 27 or 28 cents per head plus 13 to 23 cents per head for taxes depending on where the patrons graze their cattle.

“Right now the government is providing that land to the PFRA (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration) system at no charge and the PFRA system is running those pastures and losing money, significant amounts, and they are expecting the patrons to run those pastures and pay a lease fee of 27 or 28 cents a day and pay the taxes,” said McCreary. “The patron groups are looking at it and saying we’re going to be among the most expensive grass in North America.”

McCreary said small cattle producers must also have staff in the pasture in order to manage the grass appropriately, which further adds to patron’s costs. He said with the addition of this lease agreement patron groups in Saskatchewan are facing “way more expensive” costs for grassland than counterparts in Manitoba and Alberta as well as key grazing states in the United States.

“We need to find a way to get some additional savings,” he said. “Right now, can the pasture (patrons) afford to pay the lease fee? Well, it’s borderline. Every pasture (patron) has to take a look at those numbers, but it’s still more expensive grass. In Manitoba when these pastures got turned over, they turned it over to the patron groups with no lease fee. In Alberta, they turned their community pastures over and they agreed on a lease fee of $1.39 per animal unit a month.

“We need to find a way to get this lease fee lower in order to make the package more attractive.”

Lyle Stewart, Minister of Agriculture for the Government of Saskatchewan, said the 15-year lease term for community pastures was decided upon in discussions with patrons. He said the government originally suggested a five-year lease agreement, but patrons said that would not provide them with enough security, so it was moved up to the current term.

“All the province will get is about 27 cents (a head) and the rest of the costs are other costs (such as) labour, maintaining the fixed assets and so on,” said Stewart. “Those are things that patrons, as good business people, can be creative with.”

Stewart said the decision to provide the fixed assets on community pastures to patrons at no cost also came through these discussions with patrons after the government learned they would be getting these assets from the federal government at no cost.

To read more please see the April 8 print edition of The Davidson Leader.