CFA wants money sent now

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Published: August 22, 2002

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture says it is unacceptable that

Ottawa still hasn’t delivered the $600 million in transition funds it

earmarked for farmers earlier this year.

“It’s extremely urgent that that transition money flows,” CFA president

Bob Friesen said last week while touring drought-damaged regions of

Alberta and Saskatchewan.

“It was announced at the end of June and there’s no reason why that

shouldn’t have been in the hands of farmers by the end of July.”

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Friesen said he has talked to elderly farmers who told him this dry

spell is worse than what they experienced in the Dirty Thirties.

Other producers told him they don’t know if they will ever be able to

rebuild the cattle herds that they sold this summer because they

couldn’t afford to feed them.

Friesen spoke with producers at designated stops along his journey

between Edmonton and Saskatoon, where he saw crops that had withered

and died from lack of moisture.

“We saw fields with basically nothing on them.”

The sights and sounds of his western prairie trip reinforced what he

already knew – farmers need money and they needed it yesterday.

Farm organizations have sent a unified message to the federal

government that the $600 million should be doled out based on eligible

net sales and flow in such a way that each province, in conjunction

with its farm groups, can decide how to best spend its share.

While Friesen is happy with Ottawa’s $600 million transition

commitment, he warns it may not be enough.

“We must remember that that money was announced for problems that

happened last year. As far as resolving the funding for this drought,

that is still outstanding.”

Effective crop insurance is another CFA priority.

“We can no longer have insurance programs where farmers say, ‘Well,

it’s not worth it for me to buy the programs.’ “

He said the CFA has already approached the federal government about

improving crop insurance this year, but to no avail.

“If that had happened we might be in a much better situation for the

drought area,” he said.

About the author

Sean Pratt

Sean Pratt

Reporter/Analyst

Sean Pratt has been working at The Western Producer since 1993 after graduating from the University of Regina’s School of Journalism. Sean also has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and worked in a bank for a few years before switching careers. Sean primarily writes markets and policy stories about the grain industry and has attended more than 100 conferences over the past three decades. He has received awards from the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, North American Agricultural Journalists and the American Agricultural Editors Association.

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