Two founding members of the Bengough Rally Group have formed a new Saskatchewan-based farm lobby.
Bob Thomas, who led the Bengough group until late August, and Lloyd Pletz are both provisional directors of the Saskatchewan Rally Group, Inc., formed Oct. 24 at a meeting in Raymore, Sask.
About 100 farmers attended the meeting, and 15 provisional directors were chosen to get the organization running.
Ray Bashutsky of Wynyard is one of them. He said the organizers want the new group to take a “multi-faceted” approach to working on behalf of farmers.
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“We are going to take care of the plight of prairie farmers.”
Issues like farm income, the education tax revolts planned in some areas and freight costs are some of the issues Bashutsky said the group would address. For example, he pays about $39 to ship a tonne of grain to Vancouver, but potash from the same area is shipped for $29. He wants to know why there is such a difference.
Bashutsky noted there are farmers in the northeast who want a grain freeze, farmers in the Melfort area who are planning a sabbatical from seeding and farmers in the southeast who are dealing with heavy moisture and frozen grain.
“Each one of these groups has the right idea, but don’t seem to have enough of a forum to have everybody agree” on a course of action, he said.
The farm voice may be fragmented, he said, but one group may emerge as the leader.
“What if we’re that group?”
He stressed the group wants fair representation from throughout the province. It has looked at the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool’s 16 districts as a possible model for electing directors.
The official board of directors is expected to be elected at a full membership meeting in December. Memberships are $25.
