CALGARY – The struggle continues to keep a general farm organization alive in Alberta.
Unifarm, the closest the province has to an umbrella farm group, says it will go as far as asking for a plebiscite to see if farmers want the organization. And farmers would be asked to support it with their wallets by paying an annual checkoff.
“If the producers feel there’s no need for it, then I guess that’s the answer,” said president Ron Leonhardt.
Unifarm members have been debating their future as a general farm organization since the last meeting in January, said Leonhardt.
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The crux of the problem is money. Without a stable income Unifarm can’t deal with issues that concern all farmers; issues like taxation, farm credit and resources use, he said.
Surcharge on licence plates
During 16 meetings last year, those attending said they understood the need for an umbrella farm group and would probably pay into it if required.
Unifarm argues most other groups in the province receive producer money through checkoffs on commodity sales. The group has frequently proposed an annual surcharge on farm licence plates.
For example, if $5 per plate were directed toward Unifarm, the group would have an additional $750,000, said Leonhardt.
Instead, Unifarm depends on direct farmer memberships and a smattering of commodity and co-operatives’ support, giving it less than $400,000 annually. Unifarm’s membership in the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is on hold and travel is frozen, said Leonhardt.
The group is also considering a new name, constitution and revised structure, which may be revealed at the next annual meeting in January.
If Unifarm breaks apart, the Women of Unifarm are ready to go it alone if necessary to keep a farm women’s group alive.
“If they fall, we don’t want to die too,” said Women of Unifarm president Verna Kett.
About 400 farm women belong to the group and so far they’ve agreed to support Unifarm’s efforts to stay alive, she said.
A general meeting for Alberta farm women will be held in November to gauge support for a rural women’s farm group such as Women of Unifarm.
Provincial agriculture minister Walter Paszkowski has said the government supports the concept of a general farm organization but wants ironclad assurances from the numerous commodity groups that they support the notion.
Some commodity groups are united under one banner through the Ag Forum, a round table discussion group which meets every second month to talk about common concerns.
Members include representatives from the pork and cattle industries who don’t participate in Unifarm. Ironically, the forum was established by former Unifarm president Hartmann Nagel.
Cattle producer Karl Schneider, who chairs the Ag Forum, said the round table format has been successful in tackling general farm issues. It was hoped this forum would provide the springboard for a new general farm group but many commodity groups say they can speak for themselves.
“There is a fair amount of support for a general farm organization, but not unanimous support,” Schneider said from his Mannville farm.
The Alberta Cattle Commission vacated Unifarm several years ago over philosophical differences, including a dispute about grain transportation policy. It has made no overtures to return.
“I believe the majority of cattle people have not forgotten the sharp differences of opinion,” he said. “The wounds haven’t healed yet.”
Pork producers do not belong as a commodity group and Alberta Wheat Pool cancelled its block membership several years ago.
