Quebec joins federal mad cow aid package

Canadian Press
November 28, 2003 6:02 AM ET

QUEBEC — Quebec has joined a federal program to compensate beef producers for older cows that have become almost worthless in the wake of the mad cow crisis.

Quebec producers will be paid $13.3 million from the province along with $14.4 million in federal money, Quebec Agriculture Minister Francoise Gauthier announced Thursday.

The Quebec program will pay producers $255 per cow, more than programs already announced by western provinces.

"Our program also allows certain flexibility," Gauthier said during a news conference.

"We will allow producers to decide when they will slaughter their animals."

Farmers across Canada usually send about 700,000 cull cows to slaughter annually, including 125,000 in Quebec. About half were sent to the United States to be processed into hamburger before mad cow disease hit.

Alberta created its own compensation program this week, giving producers $180 a head for cows while allowing farmers to keep the animals until market conditions improve. British Columbia has also announced it will pay producers $128 for each older animal.

Critics have said the federal plan will further depress beef prices by flooding the market with cheap animals.

The average price for older cows plunged to about $200 from $700 after the mad cow crisis began, according to the Quebec Agriculture Department.

The United States has since opened its borders to processed beef from younger cattle, but not to animals over 30 months old.

Last May, the United States and several other countries closed their borders to Canadian beef after a cow in Alberta was found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy.