& Sylvia McBean
Freelance writer
news
MELITA, Man. – Farmers and merchants got together here June 29 to send a resounding message to Ottawa about the need for disaster assistance.
They were united by fears of what will happen to farms and rural communities in areas swamped by torrential rains in May and June. The rain prevented farmers from seeding at least two million acres in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
“We will not go quietly into the night,” said Debra Temple, who farms with her husband and three children near Waskada, Man. “We will fight for our livelihoods.”
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The farm rally attracted more than 2,400 people, enough to nearly pack Melita’s community arena. The rally came on the heels of a promise from the Manitoba government to pay farmers $50 per unseeded acre.
The first $25 an acre is supposed to come through an advance on AIDA, the Agricultural Income Disaster Assistance program. The other $25 will come from a separate source, with support being sought from Ottawa.
The next day, just across the border in Redvers, Sask., farmers packed the local Legion Hall to show their disapproval for what they see as their province’s poor response to the rain-soaked fields that prevented seeding in large tracts of land in southeastern Saskatchewan.
“We haven’t had the same level of commitment from our province as the farmers have had in Manitoba and we are negotiating with the same federal government that doesn’t recognize that this is a problem at all,” said Dale Nolin, an area farmer.
The Rural Municipality of Antler was declared a general disaster area in late June.
Leroy Berry farms near Storthoaks. The former Liberal MP candidate told of his meeting with federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief in Carlyle, Sask.
“I told him about our own farm situation where we have been losing money for the past few years.”
He said his message had fallen on deaf ears.
Back at the Manitoba meeting, the province’s announcement was welcomed, but those at the rally made it clear more help is needed.
“We require a minimum $50 per acre payment for unseeded acres that has no strings attached,” said Temple. “None of it should be a part of AIDA.”
Temple’s comments, which were laced with criticisms of Ottawa and existing farm safety nets, drew thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
The town of Melita was forced to sandbag this spring to fend off floodwaters from the Souris River. The town now fears an even greater menace – a depressed economy due to low commodity prices and the amount of unseeded acres in the region.
Melita mayor Ken Carels said a recent survey of merchants suggested 72 layoffs are pending in his community. More than a dozen people already were laid off this spring with the closure of a local implement dealership.
“We don’t want to become a ghost town,” said Carels, who has been mayor of this southwest Manitoba community for 18 years.
Melita hopes some form of disaster assistance will be extended to communities where farm spending could plummet due to the unseeded acres.
