Alberta producers ask for more provincial assistance

Alberta growers are asking the provincial government to recognize the extraordinary circumstances faced by farmers this year, which may already be affecting next year’s planting decisions.

In a memo sent to Alberta Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen in September, the heads of the province’s barley, canola, pulse and wheat grower organizations asked the government for several actions.

“What we need is stability in programming from the governments,” said Todd Hames, chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission. “And assurances those programs are going to be there.”

Hames said early reports show that 80 percent of the province’s 17,000 farmers represented by the grower groups will file claims to government support programs this year.

Grower groups want to make sure there are no delays in processing the large number of claims and adjusting the 50 percent cap on the variable price benefit under AgriInsurance.

That’s in addition to adjusting the cushioning formula for 2021 to minimize impacts on yield averages and updating of the New Crop Insurance Incentive to not over penalize innovative varieties with limited production.

Growers are facing a range of challenges from sourcing mechanical parts and seeds to rising input costs associated with an increase in energy prices.

Both the federal and Alberta governments can help by addressing some of the issues surrounding the AgriStability and AgriRecovery programs, the groups said.

“The AgriRecovery program was initiated but the cropping sector just didn’t fit into that program. So that ended up being a failure for the crop sector,” said Hames. “AgriStability — there were some announcements this summer from the federal government that tried to make improvements but we still haven’t signed on as Alberta to secure some of that funding.”

Hames said there are indications that Alberta will sign on after the dust settles from the federal election and an agriculture minister is sworn in.

“Eventually, we have to get back to the table and work on those programs,” said Hames, noting that from a grains and oilseed farmer’s point of view, AgriStability hasn’t been responsive to their needs.

Removal of reference margin limits or adjusting them could have a positive impact in the short-term, he said.

There is traction in Alberta for scrapping the program, but Hames said “that’s a longer-term process.”

More than anything, it’s the weather, as always, which will determine how well western Canadian farmers do next year.

“Farmers would just like to see a general shift in the weather forecast to bring some moisture across the Prairies,” said Hames.

That will be a next year issue with Hames stressing farmers need to get their claims in for this year’s drought as quickly as possible due to the expected large volumes. Farmers could also face a financial pinch with inflationary pressures on the rise.

“Producers are going to see problems because of these high input prices. To get your claims looked after earlier, there are some advance programs with AFSC to try to get money out — 50 percent of the claim paid — but they need their harvest production report,” said Hames.

No matter what transpires over the next few months, Hames said farmers continue to be a resilient lot and will make do with what they have.

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