Grain farmers might know there is a financial crisis in agriculture, but few other people do, says a new Alberta farm group with the aim of finding a solution to problems facing grain and oilseed producers.
The newly formed Alberta Grain and Oilseeds Crisis Advocacy Trust, or AGCAT, hopes to increase awareness about and resolve the financial crisis facing farmers, said its spokesperson, former Alberta agriculture minister LeRoy Fjordbotten.
“No one was focusing on the one issue, of the crisis facing the producer,” said Fjordbotten, who was asked to lead the group through the political maze and hopefully to a solution.
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“This group of producers in southern Alberta is not the type to sit in a coffee shop and complain or be critical. They’re the type that want to see something done and see something happen,” he said.
“People don’t know there’s a crisis out there.”
In a series of farm meetings across the province and an information brochure that was put in rural mailboxes, Alberta farmers have been asked to commit 10 cents per farmed acre to fund the trust. More than one million acres of farmland have already been committed at varying amounts of support.
One of the first steps the group took was to measure the expected financial loss farmers will face in the upcoming crop year.
Depending on the crop, farmers can lose $50-$70 an acre, according to University of Calgary economist Christopher Bruce.
“The future, frankly, is pretty bleak for people in grains and oilseed,” said Fjordbotten, who described this as the grain farmers’ BSE crisis, but without a vivid public image.
When BSE was discovered in a northern Alberta cow, the border to the lucrative American market closed immediately and cattle income came to an abrupt halt, but government help was equally as swift.
For grain producers, the financial problems have been building for years with steadily declining prices coupled with poor yields or poor quality grain.
Producers were told their financial problems would be solved through greater efficiency. They were told to grow higher yielding crops, get more efficient, diversify, value add and expand, said Fjordbotten.
“There is a recognition this year, when you have the mortal wound, that you can’t produce your way out of the problem.”
Instead there needs to be an immediate $50 an acre cash injection to help pay last year’s bills and buy inputs for this year.
“If money doesn’t come until June, then that’s too late,” he said.
“Windy words and promises don’t cut it any more,” said Fjordbotten. He feels governments now recognize the problem and will come up with some financial support.
“It’s my judgment they will.”
The fledgling group has already met with Alberta finance minister Shirley McClellan, Alberta agriculture minister Doug Horner and a list of other MLAs and cabinet ministers to get them on side. Federal ministers and parliamentary secretaries have also been contacted.
Ken Kultgen, farmer and mayor of the small southern Alberta community of Foremost, said while there is no shortage of farm groups across the province, none is dedicated to only helping the grains and oilseed sector.
“Nobody is doing a very good job of getting it to the forefront and getting it into the government,” said Kultgen, who wants a unified voice for grains and oilseeds producers.
Kultgen outlined a list of solutions including making changes to the current agricultural income and crop insurance programs, support for rural Alberta beyond the thriving Highway 2 corridor, and emergency payment to producers.
Without immediate assistance, producers will be in trouble, and small towns will struggle to survive, he said.
“If somebody doesn’t get something done, we won’t have any rural communities,” he said.
Agriculture minister Horner said the provincial government recognizes there is a serious issue facing the grains and oilseed sector, but he doesn’t believe a one-time cash injection will help farmers.
“Do ad hoc solve that? Quite frankly I don’t think they do,” said Horner.
Instead he looks to politicians to change income and crop insurance programs, make premium reductions and send program payments to farmers quickly.
“We can’t run around the world saying ‘stop subsidizing’ … then turn around and say ‘we’ll give you $50 an acre.’ “
