EDMONTON – Unifarm, Alberta’s general farm organization, officially terminated last week and the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers was brought to life.
But at times during the three-day convention, it seemed farmers had gathered for a funeral rather than the birth of Alberta’s newest farm organization.
“It was time for a direct-funded producer organization,” said Ron Leonhardt, president of Unifarm and now president of Wild Rose. “In meetings in the country farmers told us there was need of a direct-member organization.”
But Leonhardt admitted it will not be easy rousing the interest of farmers to support the new organization.
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Many delegates are worried about raising enough money to keep the group afloat.
“We need to find $200,000 from what we’re losing from the commodity groups,” said Charles Navratil, of Westlock.
Last year, Unifarm’s budget was just over $400,000. Half of that came from the nine commodity associations representing dairy, pork, poultry and other industries.
The balance is raised through $100 membership fees for its 1,700 members.
Because many of the 250 delegates and members at the convention were charter or long-term members of Unifarm, many were concerned they wouldn’t be able to sell enough memberships to cover the loss of funding from the associations.
“Three years ago we went home from the convention and we were going to tear the world apart and nothing happened. I’m afraid the same thing is going to happen again,” said Navratil.
At one point delegates debated a resolution to either sell 3,000 three-year memberships by April 1 or else give the board of directors the authority to kill the organization. After hours of debate and amendments the resolution was lost.
But Hartmann Nagel, a former Unifarm president, said farmers need a reason to join the new farm organization. He urged the group to allow new directors to set policy and let farmers see that the new group will fight for their rights.
“Give them a chance to sell the image. Then carry on a canvass and ask people if they want to carry on with this organization,” Nagel said.
Delegate Stan Bell said members learned from the latest wheat and barley marketing plebiscite that there are at least 5,000 farmers who want to keep the Canadian Wheat Board.
He suggested support for the board should be a major platform in the new policy of Wild Rose.
