It was like the first clap of thunder in a storm that has been building over the farming community all year.
Manitoba farmers knew before their crops were off that a difficult winter was ahead. Production costs had risen, commodity prices were sagging and farm bills were mounting.
The first thunder was heard last week in Brandon at a general council meeting of Keystone Agricultural Producers.
From that meeting a stark picture emerged of the storm that lies ahead as farmers try to fend off lenders while searching for ways to survive.
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KAP president David Rolfe said his farm group is getting an increasing number of phone calls from producers sinking into despair.
Among the callers are producers with off-farm incomes and those who embraced farm diversification as a means of survival. He said lenders are sending a sombre message about what producers can expect in terms of leniency.
“The banks made it very clear when we were talking to them that they wouldn’t force a decision on a farmer,” said KAP president David Rolfe. “What they would do is they just would refuse any more credit. Then where do you go?”
Bill Campbell, a producer from Minto, Man., illustrated why farmers are in an income crisis this fall. He compared what he was paid for his crops in 1974 with what he gets paid today. He also compared input costs.
His wheat, barley, flax and canola are all worth less today than they were 31 years ago. His flax, for example, sold for $11.26 a bushel in 1974. Today it sells for around $7 per bu. His No. 2 red spring wheat was worth $3.52 per bu. in 1974. Prices today are barely hovering above $2 a bu.
By contrast, his input costs have rocketed. He could buy diesel fuel in 1974 for 6.5 cents per litre. Last week, the price in his community was 82.9 cents per litre. The price of canola seed rose from 25 cents a pound in 1974 to $6.50 per lb. this past spring. The anhydrous ammonia that cost him 12 cents a lb. in 1974 is now 36 cents a lb., if it’s prebooked and prepaid, Campbell said.
“There’s only two commodities I raise that are worth more today than they were in ’74 and that’s calves and fat steers,” he said. The rebound in the cattle industry remains tempered by the export restrictions on cattle older than 30 months and on breeding stock.
Rolfe invited ideas from producers to remedy the immediate crisis.
“There’s going to be a dramatic reduction in margins, no matter which way you look at it,” Rolfe said. “Today’s problem is now. It’s not five years down the road.”
By the close of the meeting, producers suggested launching a phone campaign aimed at making provincial and federal politicians aware of the difficulties.
KAP hopes farmers will give the politicians personal accounts of what they are confronting this year.
Support from other sectors, such as church groups and businesses affected by the farming economy, will be sought to heighten awareness of agriculture’s importance. KAP also is planning to meet with the provincial NDP caucus this week to talk about farm incomes and ways the province could offer relief.
“We can’t just sit by,” Rolfe said. “We need to renew the effort.”
John Castle, a producer who has farmed for more than half a century, said he used to be able to comfort himself with the belief that good years in farming would always follow the bad. He is no longer sure that will be the case.
“We’re beating our heads against a wall to produce a product that nobody wants,” Castle said.
He suggested one solution would be to return the Prairies to grass and trees and to have producers paid by government to remain on their farms as stewards of the land.
