Lease holders on agricultural crown lands should be allowed to sublet unused grassland to beef producers this year without penalty, says the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan.
Delegates attending the organization’s mid-term meeting in Saskatoon last week voted unanimously for a resolution urging the association to lobby the provincial government for such a change.
During a brief discussion, one delegate said the resolution should receive top priority from APAS leaders.
“This is an urgent issue and we need to get moving on it right away,” he said.
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APAS president Greg Marshall said in an interview after the meeting that making crown grassland available to beef producers would be in line with a number of drought-related initiatives announced by the province in recent days.
Those include making 100,000 acres of government owned wildlife land available for grazing and making several changes to crop insurance rules regarding green feed.
“These kind of initiatives are exactly what we’re looking for,” he said, adding the production of grass and forages is going be way down in 2009 and that’s causing a lot of concern among beef producers.
Other resolutions passed included:
- Asking the provincial and federal governments to base crop insurance coverage on a true representation of yields combined with market prices. Such a change would attract more farmers to sign up for crop insurance and reduce the need for ad hoc support programs. That in turn could free up money to continue to improve crop insurance.
- Ensuring that rules covering investment in farmland are the same for farmers as they are for large land investment companies, especially when it comes to tax-related issues.
- Setting up a board representing industry, government and producers to study rail freight rates and come up with proposals to reduce costs for farmers.
