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Premier Called Upon to Meet September 16, 2005 ( REGINA). The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) today launched yet another appeal to the Premier of Saskatchewan. This time for a meeting with the Premier, and the Ministers of Rural Development, Agriculture and Food, and Finance to discuss what measures can be taken to help farmers, especially those hardest hit by the recent extreme weather. Terry Hildebrandt, President of APAS stated, “The weather that passed through Saskatchewan this weekend has had a huge impact on many farms. It is devastating to many farmers that were working hard to just break even to see an entire year’s work compromised in a day.” “I’m sorry to say that once again, farmers are reduced to asking for support measures.’ Mr. Hildebrandt continued, ‘while there is crop insurance and the CAIS program, many will not qualify, and these programs will not provide the immediate cash flow necessary for many farmers to survive. These programs are not designed to sustain farmers continuously year after year.” “There has been a farm income crisis for some time, with the federal government projection of a net realized farm income of negative one hundred and sixty six million dollars ( -$166 Million) for Saskatchewan for 2004, and a 2005 projection of negative four hundred and eighty six million dollars (-$486 Million). In the past month income has been further eroded by a number of rising input costs due to oil prices, and now the value of the crop across Saskatchewan has been vastly diminished. Many farmers will be severely challenged. Do not misunderstand,’ Mr. Hildebrandt emphasized, ‘we are not seeking assistance every time Mother Nature has a tantrum. In the long term what we really need is farm policy reform. But, this has been a year of immense challenge for all farmers, who have seen their fuel bills increase by thousands of dollars, and we have yet to hear of any mechanism by the provincial government to recognize this crisis and to act in some fashion to buffer those costs. Now we see the value of the crop destroyed in a huge area of the province, and we have a formula for economic disaster. As a result, we have asked the Premier for a meeting to discuss what will actually be a disaster for many. We have asked for his presence and leadership along with a number of Ministers responsible for a variety of departments and programs. The existing programs including CAIS and Crop Insurance clearly do not meet the farmers’ needs. We need this government to recognize the crisis and to help farmers to get through this challenging time. We believe the government needs to develop a plan that will reduce the economic impact this disaster will have on our sector of the economy and on those communities that are largely reliant on agriculture.’ Mr. Hildebrandt said, ‘It may not be a great analogy to use, but for many more farmers, without some support, this will be the last straw.” -30- (Authored and distributed by APAS) |