Ag ministry official says lessons learned in feeder receivership

By Kristine Jean SOUTHERN ALBERTA NEWSPAPERS ssnews@sunnysouthnews.com on April 2, 2025.

Controversy is still brewing over the collapse of the Picture Butte Feeder Cooperative (PBFC), but a government official says resolution is coming.
John Conrad, assistant deputy minister for the primary agriculture division of Agriculture and Irrigation, was at a town hall meeting Tuesday in Lethbridge for PBFC members. The closed-door meeting was hosted by receiver-manager Alvarez and Marsal Canada Inc., the firm appointed as the restructuring officer following a hearing in Edmonton last month.
The PBFC went into receivership following an order from the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation on Jan. 27 found they failed to comply with the Feeder Associations Guarantee Act (FAGA), the Feeder Associations General Regulation (FAGR) and were being operated in an unsound manner.
Conrad shared a strong message of support and empathy from the Alberta government and Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson for the PBFC, its members and the overall loan program. He said the ministry will be “applying good lessons that have been learned through this event” to ensure good governance going forward. 
Conrad noted how the medium- and mid-sized cattle operators that belong the PBFC have been “in a pinch” since the ministerial order was issued at the end of January.
“They have no access to new program loans – they don’t have access to that money, they’re feeling the pinch so certainly their concerns, their duress and their anxiety was expressed,” said Conrad, noting the actions had to be taken.
“It is causing some pain for sure, and we do acknowledge that.”
He pointed out that a ministerial order is a serious thing and with it, there can be concerns over the future of cattle operations and the loan program. 
“We believe in the (loan) program, our minister strongly supports it,” said Conrad.
Asked if taxpayers could possibly be on the hook for any of the costs associated with the loans, he pointed out the “negligible draw over the last 90 years on the taxpayer” and would only occur if and when loans go into default.     
“We’re doing everything in our power with our minister and their stakeholders to prevent that from happening,” said Conrad. “This (loan) program is nearly 90 years old … and has been operating in Alberta with a very small default rate.
“In one sense, the action that the minister took with this order is all part of the good governance and appropriate level of diligence of an elected official to make sure that that doesn’t happen – that we do have our feed associations operating in a sound manner, that loans are not defaulted upon and we are not imposing an undue burden on the taxpayer.”
Conrad also discussed the next steps for the PBFC, a possible timeline in rescinding the ministerial order, and what the government and other stakeholders would need to see in place for that to happen.        
“There’s optimism. We’re hoping that this will be done in a matter of weeks, not months,” he said, adding that the “conditions are very achievable in early April,” but it’s not just the government that needs to be satisfied with the outcome.
“I think there’s consortia of about five or six major lenders that make up the (loan program) and they need to be satisfied as well,” said Conrad. “What we conveyed at the town hall and I think what members left with was a sense that all of the players are pulling in the same direction and are on the same page with the receiver.”
Ultimately, going forward, the government wants to communicate a sense of confidence and stability in Alberta’s feeder association loan guarantee program. 
“This program’s going to be around for many, many years and this feeder association as well, and we want to stabilize,” said Conrad. “The members have been through enough at this stage and we want to come out strong on the other side.”

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