AgriStability must be fixed
Dear ministers of agriculture,
Canada’s 7,000 pork producers play an important role in their rural communities and are key contributors to agri-food exports and ensuring the security of Canada’s food supply. However, their contributions are at risk due to unprecedented market volatility, much of it beyond their control.
In the current market, AgriStability should be serving as an anchor to help producers ride out the storm. Unfortunately, the drop in support levels introduced in 2012 has resulted in a program that provides little, if any support. Farmers have been left exposed to significant risk and effectively left to manage that risk on their own. AgriStability must be fixed.
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At its core, it is a good program. It is tailored to our individual situations. It only pays out when we face a significant loss. It is trade compliant. While it offers support to producers, it does not mask important signals that tell farmers adjustments are required.
Pork producers are expected to lose more than $500 million due to COVID-19, losses that are expected to continue well into 2021. However, the impacts on producers, their rural community, supply chains and the Canadian economy can be mitigated if ministers fix AgriStability.
In order to return AgriStability to its former role as a meaningful backstop that delivers the support producers need, when they need it, the fix must include changes to the payment trigger or the payment rate.
If all ministers do is remove reference margin limiting, governments will have failed farmers once again.
Please choose to protect farmers, rural communities, the food system, and the economy.
Rick Bergmann, Canadian Pork Council
Jack DeWit, B.C. Pork
Brent Moen, Alberta Pork
Casey Smit, Saskatchewan Pork Development Board
George Matheson, Manitoba Pork
Eric Schwindt, Ontario Pork
David Duval, Fédération des producteurs de porcs du Québec
Margie Lamb, Pork Nova Scotia
Hans Kristensen, Porc N.B. Pork
Paul Larsen, P.E.I. Hog Commodity Marketing Board
Article did not reflectRichard Kanegawa
I am disappointed in what I view as the shallow style of this story (about Richard Kanegawa) in the Producer of Nov. 5.
The man was not “from Calgary,” he was a long-time resident and big part of the Lethbridge and southern Alberta region. He was a very well-known and outstanding person of that area.
The thing that disturbs me is the seeming gloss-over the fact that he and his family were successful survivors of the seizure of their family assets and imprisonment in an internment camp.
The mousy little reference to “coming from New Westminster and began to grow potatoes during the war,” I find to be quite insulting to the character and resilience of Richard as a survivor.
Here is an opportunity — and an obligation — to honour this gentleman and his family story relative to a racist time.
It almost seems as if your writer hasn’t much of an understanding of the context of this man’s life. I suggest you at least take a look at a relevant Wikipedia piece on the context of this man’s life that came to be developed in southern Alberta. You can find it here.
You owe it to the readers to treat this passing with more respect and an opportunity to tell an important story of our history, the great achievement, with the ugly.
Douglas Taylor, Edmonton
Man. govt. not acting conservative
Our premier, Brian Pallister, says he wants to save lives, so he shuts the economy down — COVID, COVID — except liquor stores and marijuana shops. We can’t even go to church and pray and he thinks Manitoba is going to get out of this in good shape?
I thought I voted for a conservative. My own MLA never returns my phone calls; so much for my politicians being accountable.
Then there are the fines for not complying with COVID rules — $1,300 for individuals. Did I tell you I thought I voted Conservative?
By the way, the premier was seen in an airport a few months ago talking to another politician, Andrew Scheer, both not wearing masks, while it was the law to do so in airports — typical politicians.
Don’t get me wrong; let’s try to save lives. But in the last year the same Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party went and paid for the abortion pill for all Manitobans and from what I hear, euthanasia is still being performed in our health care facilities to this day. Hypocrites.
Rupert Theuerer, Lac du Bonnet, Man.
