Saskatchewan’s general farm organization says the internal strife that shook the confidence of its membership is behind it and the group is busy rebuilding relationships.
“We have witnessed the rebirth of our organization,” Greg Marshall, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, told delegates attending the group’s mid-term meeting in Saskatoon last week.
But the new child is a slimmed down version. Marshall expects to receive membership fees from about 80 of the province’s 296 rural municipalities in 2009, down from the peak of 130 RMs.
“A lot of RM councils still don’t trust us,” Marshall told delegates.
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“They are withholding their membership until we prove to them that we have solved our problems.”
In recent years, infighting at APAS has led to a revolving door of administrative staff, executives and board members and a membership exodus.
Marshall said that is all behind them now and everybody is “singing from the same song book.”
The organization is focusing on rebuilding relationships with its staff, board, all levels of government, sister organizations in Manitoba and Alberta and with the media.
One of the key relationships APAS wants to mend is with the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
“I’ve heard time and time and time again that you have to get out there and rebuild that relationship with SARM, which we’ve done,” said Marshall.
In the past, the two groups have not been co-operating. APAS has set up a summer meeting with SARM’s board of directors to see if they can start working together on common issues.
Another priority is to increase membership. RMs pay an average of about $9,000 to $10,000 to belong to the organization. Marshall’s first goal is 100 members.
His second goal is to get back to the peak of 130 members. Long-term, he sees no reason why APAS can’t represent all 296 RMs.
The decline in membership has forced the organization to become “leaner and meaner.” For the six months ending April 30, 2009, APAS posted net income of $584,268, up from $231,062 over the same time one year ago, due to cutbacks in per diems, travel and promotional expenses.
Marshall highlighted some of the organization’s policy priorities, one of which is crop insurance reform. He told delegates attending the June 24 session that the federal and provincial governments had just announced changes to the program.
Saskatchewan Crop Insurance is extending the deadline for greenfeed crops to July 15 from June 30, allowing producers to seed and insure any cereal greenfeed crop and allowing producers in severe drought areas to have their claims processed without field inspection.
Marshall said APAS hadn’t lobbied for those specific changes but he welcomed them.
“It’s a very positive move to see governments react. They’re starting to recognize the problem,” he said.
Hay crops are probably only going to produce half of what they normally do, which has producers wondering how they are going to feed their cattle.
“A lot of crops have already been lost, so if we can reseed those acres into greenfeed, what better fit?”
APAS is also lobbying for support for the beleaguered pork sector through its membership in the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
“We’ve lost our pork industry in this province. We’ve got less than 100 producers,” said Marshall.
The group was hoping to formulate policies on producer payment security, GM wheat and the Canadian Grain Commission’s closure of on-site inspection services at its convention.
Marshall told delegates that the farming community is becoming a “me generation” that has the resources and wherewithal to do things on their own but he stressed there is still a need for general farm organizations in the political arena.
“I’m constantly amazed how many times I get involved in discussions where I’m the only farmer in the room,” he said.
