Alberta forage producers are cheering their inclusion in the National Income Stabilization Account and supporting the decision to allow sugar beets, forage crops, sheep and hogs into the safety net program.
As well, federal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale is receiving praise from many farmers for promising to cover the Alberta government’s former share of NISA.
“It’s good news for us,” said Marcel Maisonneuve of the Alberta Dehydrators Association. “Being left out was discriminatory, as far as I’m concerned.”
Goodale announced the federal government will increase its funding of the Alberta NISA program to fill the gap left by the provincial government’s decision to drop out of the program.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
Normally, the federal government provides two-thirds of the government funding and the province one-third. Now, the federal government will provide all the government funding, allowing producers to continue to receive one for one matching contributions to the safety net program.
While the Alberta NISA program is being expanded to new commodities and the federal government will provide more of the money, no new money will be spent on Alberta safety nets. All the extra NISA money will come out of what the federal government has already set aside for Alberta safety nets.
Goodale said it was important for the federal government to backfill NISA.
Equal access
“Albertans deserve access to the same federal programs which we offer to farmers across Canada,” he said.
Alberta agriculture minister Walter Paszkowski said he was pleased to see the new commodities included in NISA, but said he had “mixed feelings” about Goodale’s announcement.
He said Goodale had not answered any of the province’s concerns about NISA, such as how beginning farmers could be helped by it, how it could be fixed to make sure it covers multi-year disasters, and how it could be made trade-neutral.
“The only reason we had not agreed to participate in NISA in the future was because the federal minister was not able to address those issues,” said Paszkowski.
Dale Schaffrick of the Alberta Forage Council said he was glad forage producers could finally share in the safety net.
“They should have had the ability to be part of it,” said Schaffrick, who added many farmers have land that is only suitable for forage crops, but who had been left outside the protection of NISA because of the province’s objections to the program.
“The overwhelming response to this is in favor,” said Schaffrick.
Maisonneuve said being allowed into NISA will make business a lot better for dehydrators.
“When our plants go out to contract acres this year, producers won’t be saying they can’t use the crops for NISA,” he said. Now that they will be covered if there is a disaster, producers might be willing to turn over more acreage to forage crops.
Maisonneuve said he was unhappy forage producers have missed out on four years of contributions, but “you have to start somewhere. It’s one issue we’re glad to see resolved in our favor.”
