Opposition politicians and farm leaders are waiting for the March 30 budget for more details on how the Saskatchewan government plans to help producers.
Last week’s throne speech was vague, they said, and there was no mention of farm aid.
“In the past the government has promised a long-term safety net,” said opposition agriculture critic Bill Boyd. “This speech they didn’t even promise that.”
Opposition leader Elwin Hermanson called the speech “thin, cold soup.”
He said the government didn’t meet past commitments such as the long-term safety net and a program to reduce high input costs.
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“These commitments are gone, replaced by a new promise to get farmers to leave their farms,” Hermanson said.
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Clay Serby said that’s not true.
The agriculture minister said the throne speech talks about transition and adjustment — helping farm families take advantage of new opportunities and manage change in their operations — not leave their farms.
Ivan Ottenbreit, vice-president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said his organization is interested in such programs.
“I want younger people to get involved in agriculture and those within agriculture to be able to help those get in and perhaps the older generation could contribute to that and then they will move out,” he said. “It’s a partnership.”
Ottenbreit said the government has to take a leading role in diversification, even though farmers have tried almost everything.
Sinclair Harrison, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, said the province is now in a situation where it has some money to spend.
“There was nothing that I heard that addressed the increased energy costs, the increased fuel costs which affect all sectors of Saskatchewan, but especially farmers going to the fields,” he said. “We’ll hope that there’s something on the 30th.”
Producers can look for increased research and development funding in the budget.
Just days after the throne speech, Serby announced details of another throne speech promise, a permanent cover program.
