The Nova Scotia government will help fund a new program designed to support the beef industry and safety standards.
Agriculture Minister Keith Colwell says the program is a result of asking cattle producers in Nova Scotia what is most important to them.
“I’m pleased to see what they came forward with,” he says.
The Nova Scotia Cattle Producers will receive $89,100 to improve animal health, farm safety, equipment and investment returns.
The program will subsidize 40 per cent of new purchases up to $1,000 when producers require new equipment or transportation. The government says this equipment includes neck-extending head gates, cattle squeezes and crowding tubs.
"Adequate cattle-handling equipment reduces stress on animals as well as reduces the risk of producers being injured by an excited animal," said Larry Weatherby, chair of the Nova Scotia Cattle Producers.
Weatherby says the changes will help bring around $30-40 more per head of cattle when they go to market.
The costs of the Safe Handling of Cattle Program will be shared between the federal and the provincial governments in a 60-40 split.
There are around 700 registered cattle producers in Nova Scotia.
