Prairie farm leaders meet in Winnipeg tomorrow to try to inject a bit more agriculture into the last two weeks of the federal election campaign.
Leaders of the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers, Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan and Keystone Agricultural Producers will gather at KAP offices to highlight the prairie farmer wish list as reflected by their members.
“The future of the farming community in Canada depends on political decision makers understanding the integral contribution agriculture makes in Canada and farmers want to ensure that their issues are front and centre,” said a statement from APAS president Greg Marshall, WRAP president Humphrey Banack and KAP president Doug Chorney.
They have already identified three key issues:
- Making the Growing Forward programs more farmer friendly, including changes to business risk management programs and more attention to environmental sustainability and research.
- The need to improve rail service on the Prairies in the wake of the Rail Service Review report. Many of the farm group leaders’ members also want a political commitment to a rail freight costing review.
- Concern about Canadian Grain Commission services and the commission’s proposal to hike user fees to help cover more of its operating costs.
The list may grow after tomorrow’s meeting.
