Gerry Ritz’s appearance seemed to satisfy a room full of cattle producers in Regina last week.
There were no angry words during a 36-minute question-and-answer session to end the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association semi-annual meeting.
President Brad Wildeman said Ritz has worked hard, particularly on long-term solutions that could make agriculture more sustainable.
Immediate aid was not on delegates’ radar, he said.
“We’re not in anywhere near the kind of trouble the pork industry is in,” Wildeman said. “We’re not on the verge of collapse.”
Read Also
Increasing farmland prices blamed on investors
a major tax and financial services firm says investors are driving up the value of farmland, preventing young farmers from entering the business. Robert Andjelic said that is bullshit.
There is a potential feed shortage in prairie drought areas and mandatory traceability by 2011 will add to producers’ costs.
Ritz pledged the government would work with producers to implement the program and promised it would not be one “where all you see is a bill in your mailbox.”
He assured producers facing feed deficits that the AgriRecovery program would help them.
The minister also said he agreed with the intent of a cattle price insurance program that officials and industry are now working on and that existing business risk management tools didn’t always work for livestock producers.
“We finally got them to admit the program isn’t working,” Wildeman said. “That’s what we’ve been trying to tell them.”
He said it’s up to industry leaders to help agriculture ministers understand the issues and effect change.
“Associations that want to beat up on politicians tend to be less effective,” Wildeman said. “We are critical in private when we need to be.”
