OLDS, Alta. – John Morgan has been in the business of farming for nearly a century and he is worried.
“I was born in 1911 so I’ve been around,” said the Sundre, Alta., resident who has also worked in the oil patch and lumber business.
He fears the high cost of energy is going to force farmers out of business.
In 1972 wheat was $1.62 a bushel and a barrel of oil was $2.25 (U.S.) Nearly 30 years later, wheat is selling for $2 a bushel but oil has soared past $30(U.S.)
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“We cannot survive this way,” he said. “We are doing nothing about it. All the young farmers trying to start out will never make it.”
He said governments must place controls on the cost of energy or the entire agriculture industry could crumble.
Issues and concerns
This was one of the prominent views put forth when 90 people came to the Olds Legion to talk farming, politics and to assess their futures in agriculture.
Diametrically opposed views were discussed in civilized tones, but the same messages often emerged.
One was that agriculture needs a stronger voice, whether it is on environmental sustainability, rural survival, public policy or infrastructure.
“We need to be more willing to participate in the discussion of these things,” said farmer Kim Nelson.
“We seem to be out of the loop in being aware of what is going on.”
Views across the worktables varied from calling for more government protection to requesting fewer regulations.
“The government has to be involved in the marketplace,” said Art Eckert during a public policy debate within his working group.
“If the government stays out, we will be producing it for free.”
Others argued many problems could be solved by removing Alberta from the Canadian Wheat Board’s jurisdiction.
Most farmers accepted the need for more food processing at home to capture extra dollars. However, they agreed that is not the entire answer for struggling primary producers.
The government continues its pledge to see value-added processing reach $20 billion a year within the next five years, but the farmers at Olds said primary production still has a place.
“Don’t move the focus away completely from the producer,” said Bill McFarlane.
“We’ve got to feed the cows too.”
Alberta farming facts
- Over the next 15 years, Alberta’s population is projected to increase by 40 percent, the highest in Western Canada. The 1999 population was 2.9 million.
- In 1998, 10.7 percent of household expenditures in Alberta were on food.
- In 1996, there were 59,008 farms, down 30 percent from 1951.
- Market cattle receipts went up 11.8 percent in 1999. Total receipts were $3.1 billion.
- Hog receipts improved by 7.4 percent in 1999 to $339 million. However, the 1999 average price was 21 percent below the five-year average.
- Over the last three years, fertilizer, machinery fuel and machinery repair costs represented 10, six and nine percent respectively of the average Alberta farm operating expenses.
- Net farm income accounted for 21 percent of an average farm operator’s total income in 1995. The remaining 79 percent was from off-farm employment and other sources of income.
