RED DEER – When it comes to participation in national farm
organizations, the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers Association sits at
the back of the room.
Unable to pay full membership in the Canadian Federation of
Agriculture, the province is not fully represented at the national
level, said president Neil Wagstaff at the association’s annual meeting.
“The Alberta government should be ashamed, in my opinion, that Wild
Rose Agricultural Producers cannot afford to maintain a full membership
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when every other province’s general farm organization has found
themselves in some fashion to be able to,” Wagstaff said.
Wild Rose delegates later passed a resolution asking the Alberta
government to pay the balance of what is owed.
The government has consistently refused to provide the organization
with a checkoff from all farmers. Wild Rose is supported entirely with
volunteer memberships.
“All farmers in Alberta will benefit from us being at CFA,” said Robert
Filkohazy of Hussar.
Wild Rose paid $5,000 last year to sit as an associate member. Wagstaff
said it would cost between $60,000 and $80,000 to sit as a full member.
The province lost more representation when Agricore United opted out of
the CFA. Agricore provided Alberta representation at the board table.
“Alberta has the weakest general farm organization in this country,”
Wagstaff said.
“Every other province in this country has some type of stable funding
mechanism for their major general farm organizations through a system
of checkoffs, commodity group contributions or direct government
support.”
On the Prairies, Keystone Agricultural Producers in Manitoba is funded
by a voluntary checkoff. The Agricultural Producers Association of
Saskatchewan is funded by some rural municipalities.
