We live in uncertain times.

It’s June. Beef prices in the region are very, very good and Maritime butchers struggle to keep up with the demand.

Regulations prescribed to curb the spread of COVID-19 ignited an unprecedented consumer quest for local produce. But some cattlemen are skeptical the pursuit will continue when pandemic restrictions are lifted.

It’s a different story in Western Canada where feedlots are swollen with unsold market-ready cattle. The backlog began after COVID-19 cases temporarily shuttered two Alberta meat processing plants that handle 70 percent of the national beef supply. On June 1, neither were running at full capacity.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) estimated that without financial assistance, industry losses could reach half a billion dollars this month.

All three Prairie provinces have stepped in to meet their AgriStability commitments, but ranchers are under immense stress with volatile markets and BSE flashbacks.

Alberta cattle producers are being urged to buy insurance on fall feeder and calf prices. Unfortunately, the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) premiums have escalated – from $15 or $20 before the COVID-19 outbreak to the $70 range in April.

But it’s a risk management tool that Maritime beef associations have tried to emulate and implement for the past four years, says N.B. Cattle Producers opportunity coordinator Cedric MacLeod.

He is very concerned about fall market prices and how they will affect the local industry. MacLeod warns farmers that no further COVID-19 assistance programs will be forthcoming from federal or provincial governments. He advises producers to investigate AgriStability, AgriInvest, and the Advanced Payments Program.

There is uncertainty and anxiety in the sheep industry too. Global wool markets are frozen. Pandemic restrictions that closed restaurants and limited social gatherings along with huge price fluctuations played havoc with some traditional markets.

The Northumberland Lamb Marketing Co-operative implemented extra precautions and kept employees working during the pandemic. With lambing underway, the Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, wholesale distributor will be relieved when restaurants reopen.

Atlantic Beef Products altered protocols to protect employees, producers, and visitors to its Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island, plant while it continues to supply markets across the country.

Although pandemic restrictions are cautiously being lifted, CCA vice-president Dennis Laycraft has predicted that inconstant markets and short-term processing interruptions could prevail well into 2021.

And with varying international political decisions about the dangers of COVID-19, future uncertainty is guaranteed.