Ottawa—The federal government is making $100 million available through the AgriRecovery program to assist farmers struggling with the costs of drought and wildfires, says Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.The funding will match all provincial AgriRecovery submissions on the 60-40 per cent cost-shared basis outlined under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, she said in a mid-September announcement. “Producers can be assured that they will receive assistance as soon as full assessments are completed.” Bibeau said the federal government will seek additional funding once the provinces have made their final requests.Ottawa is working with the Ontario, Prairie and B.C. governments to complete assessments of the impact of the drought and fire to see how best AgriRecovery can help, she said. “Once these assessments are completed, the government will expedite work to finalize an agreement with each province on support programs.” Funding could be used to help livestock producers pay for costs of obtaining livestock feed, transportation and water. Alberta has already asked for an additional $203 million in aid.Livestock producers in Northwestern Ontario as well as B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan have now been designated as eligible for the Livestock Tax Deferral, Bibeau said. “The designation will allow beef producers who are forced to sell a significant amount of their breeding herd due to drought conditions to offset the resulting revenues with the costs to replace the herd.”The Canadian Federation of Agriculture welcomed the $100 million earmarked for drought relief through AgriRecovery. President Mary Robinson said the initial assistance is encouraging “but clearly more funding is needed to address the situation across much of Canada.”Ontario and the other Western provinces need to follow Alberta's lead “and do a quick assessment of the damage done by the drought to their respective agriculture sectors and develop AgriRecovery assistance packages for the affected producers in those provinces as well.”The Ontario Federation of Agriculture said the AgriRecovery funding “will ensure our farmers don't lose their livelihood, and that Canada's food supply is not disrupted. We will continue to engage in discussions with government to ensure our farmers have access to the assistance they need in these difficult times.”The tax deferral announcement “will help support our beef producers and help offset costs that occurred due to extreme weather and drought.” Discussions will continue with the government “to ensure our farmers have access to the assistance they need in these difficult times.”Crosby Devitt, CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario, said, “The additional funding to AgriRecovery is welcome for those in disaster conditions, but will likely be of greater benefit to western farmers and livestock farmers at this time. We continue to look to the federal government for appropriate AgriStability funding and triggers and to support farmers and acknowledge their ongoing positive environmental contributions and efforts.”The Canadian Cattlemen's Association said that while Bibeau's announcements are steps in the right direction, “significantly more funding will be required to address the magnitude of challenges beef producers are facing due to these extreme weather conditions.“We are experiencing the worst drought our country has seen in decades, leaving our cattle herd at great risk right from British Columbia across to Ontario,” said President Bob Lowe. “With beef producers making critical feed and herd management decisions for their operations right now, time is of the essence.”He asked Bibeau “to ensure drought and wildfire relief measures are sufficiently funded and designed to address the needs of beef producers.”Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.