EDMONTON (Staff) – The president of Unifarm says he’s willing to form a new organization with new people, a new constitution and a new name.
It is a daunting task, but Ron Leonhardt sees a future for Alberta’s general farm organization as it celebrates its 25 anniversary this year.
Leonhardt and the board of directors say they are willing to tackle reform if it means giving Alberta a respected and legitimate general farm organization.
“If we can develop this new concept then we will step aside. We will dissolve this organization,” said Leonhardt.
Read Also
European wheat production makes big recovery
EU crop prospects are vastly improved, which could mean fewer canola and durum imports from Canada.
Despite mediocre support from farmers and commodity associations, Leonhardt said, “The organization could go down, but we’ll go down fighting.”
Alberta agriculture minister Walter Pazskowski said Jan. 11 at Unifarm’s convention here that there’s room for a general farm organization in Alberta, but it must be developed by producers, not the government.
Pazskowski said he’s warm to a whole farm organization but wants proof that grassroots farmers and commodity groups will support it before granting a checkoff.
“If there is no support, you can’t say it speaks for all farmers,” he told delegates. “There’s no point putting together a farm organization that other organizations are going to criticize or not be in accord with.”
Shrinking budgets
He said dealing with a single organization is easier for government rather than a lineup of farm groups at his door in Edmonton lobbying against each other.
In an interview at the convention in Edmonton Jan. 11-12, Leonhardt admitted there are problems for the group as its budget shrinks and members drift away.
Direct farmer membership hovers around 2,000. The group couldn’t afford to pay its Canadian Federation of Agriculture dues this year. Several powerful commodity groups have refused to support a general farm organization.
Financial blow
United Farmers of Alberta, the last major group to fund and support Unifarm, has also threatened to pull out, which could mean a financial blow of about $150,000 a year in contributions. That decision will be reached at the co-operative’s annual meeting in March, said UFA president Orval Sorkin. He wouldn’t reveal why UFA might leave Unifarm.
Assured funding through a refundable checkoff is the critical issue for Unifarm.
If the government agreed to a refundable surcharge on farm licence plates for example, Unifarm officials believe it could increase their annual budget to about $1 million.
