A number of farm groups and organizations say the Federal Governments COVID-19 Agricultural Assistance Program doesn't go far enough.

The $252 million program designates $50 million dollars for a set-aside program for the beef industry to help with feeding costs for animals that can't be processed as a result of the slowdown at the meatpacking plants.

Bob Lowe, President of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association says we're glad it's there and it’s a start, but more needs to be done.

“If you take in the whole cattle complex it was used up a matter of a few weeks ago, a couple of weeks ago. That amount of money has already been spent by the industry before this even comes out. So, that's kind of the point, it's just not enough.”

He notes there's a backlog of market-ready cattle of about 100,000 animals and with the continued slowdown we're still building the backlog by about 4000 to 5000 head a day.

Lowe notes that with the slowdown or temporary shutdown of processing plants it means increased costs for producers and the feedlot sector.

“An animal gets to market weight and if you can't sell it, it keeps eating so that roughly $4 a day per head. So, they've been backed up a month, that's an extra $120 into that animal cost, and at the same time, the value of that animal has dropped by $500.”

He notes it will take time for the industry to recover from this.