Do you have 5 minutes per week? The Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) needs your assistance in voluntary cash price reporting.

All current WLPIP Fed subscribers are invited and encourage to report weekly cash prices through an anonymous online data collection site that will directly benefit the WLPIP settlement and sustainability of the program in general.

The WLPIP began in Alberta in 2009 and is delivered to producers within provincial bodies through to Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC). This program was created by industry and third-party consultation in response to the devastation during BSE. At the time of creation, the fed cattle industry was much different than what it is today. Industry consolidation and shifts in marketing have evolved through the years creating a different risk management dynamic.

Based on a third-party review conducted in 2017, feedback indicated a common producer concern was with thinning in the Fed cash market data reported to WLPIP, and the potential of resulting delays in settlement prices. These delays could be short and only affect the current week, or long – lasting for a few weeks, if the data remains thin.

We, as the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association, reached out to AFSC to research the possibility of voluntary price reporting direct to AFSC in order to capture as much of the cash market sales as possible. An industry advisory working group was created that consisted of six active cattle feeders.

A pilot project of voluntary price reporting was conducted and ran for 18 consecutive weeks. Ultimately, the pilot was deemed very successful, as all members actively participated each week. An increase in data available to WLPIP was observed. Encouraged by the additional data received, WLPIP is continuing with this initiative to collect producer reported cash prices for finished cattle. The next step is for WLPIP to collect producer cash data from all willing producers across all four western provinces.

To be included in WLPIP’s data collection, please provide your email to [email protected].

By providing your email, you will start receiving weekly emails containing a specific link to direct you to the data collection page. Time required each week to complete the report, will be five minutes or less, and will significantly increase the value of the program over time.

For more information and to participate in this initiative, please click here.