KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The Net Income Stabilization Account may be the farm program of choice for the British Columbia government, but farmer response to the safety net isn’t as enthusiastic as the province’s agriculture minister had hoped.
“There’s a lot of concern about the NISA model. We thought it was the one and it would solve everybody’s problems,” said B.C. agriculture minister Dave Zirnhelt.
“There’s more work to be done to resolve which commodities are in and which ones are out,” he said during an interview at the recent B.C. Federation of Agriculture meeting in Kamloops.
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B.C. cattle producers have told their government they want no part of a safety net because they consider government-funded programs to be a subsidy. That would make them possible targets for tariffs in the U.S.
“Right now we’re not about to make it available to a group that’s said no to it,” Zirnhelt said.
“I’ve not had one letter from a cattleman saying ‘please give me NISA.’ “
The minister is also watching the outcome of Alberta’s Farm Income Stability Program which he said will likely not pay out very often. He does not believe such a program would work in B.C.
B.C. Federation of Agriculture president Jake Janzen, who also sits on the national safety net committee, is willing to look at a modified NISA.
“We like the concept of NISA. We realize it may have some trade implications,” said Janzen.
“I have a suspicion that cattlemen will be looking for something especially with the prices of calves (going down).”
