BRANDON, Man. – How can farmers go to the bank with next year’s budget in hand if they don’t know what kind of risk protection they’ll have?
Barry Routledge, an executive member of Keystone Agricultural Producers, said Manitoba farmers don’t know if they’ll even have the Gross Revenue Insurance Plan next year.
At a recent meeting, KAP members passed a resolution to ask the Manitoba Crop Insurance Corporation for preliminary information about the 1996 cost and coverage levels for crop and revenue insurance.
Farmers will soon start “formulating their budgets to take into their banking institutions for lines of credit, and they’ve got to know what their risk allocations are,” Routledge said.
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If the province does not have a revenue insurance program next year, Routledge advised farmers to set aside the money usually budgeted for risk protection to create their own safety nets.
“When the crash does come, and the program is not in place at that time, at least you have some cushion there,” Routledge said. “It won’t pull you out of the hole, but it may get you over the hollow until the next year.”
Manitoba is looking at enhancing its crop insurance program, but Routledge challenged producers to think about whether this is the right focus for the future.
Needs may change
“Are we asking governments to do the right thing at this point in time? If you want to base it on our past performance, definitely we’re doing the right thing,” he said. But if the province changes its production patterns as is predicted, crop insurance may not be what farmers need.
“It’s a very, very hard question,” Routledge said.
Some believe the solution to the safety net dilemma is to rely entirely on ad hoc programs for years when there’s a natural disaster.
But Routledge said ad hoc payouts may not happen if the province passes tough new balanced budget laws. Under such legislation, the government could run a deficit only if approved by voters through a plebiscite.
“What do you think the outcome is going to be? How many voting farmers are there compared to the urban people? I don’t think ad hoc is a tangible reality any more.”
