RM seeking assistance amid state of ‘agriculture disaster’
Reeve wants either direct subsidies or help from risk management programs
The reeve of a Saskatchewan rural municipality that recently declared a “state of agriculture disaster” is asking for more government support, as millions of dollars worth of crop remain out on the field.
Reeve Corey Senft represents the Rural Municipality of Lipton, near Fort Qu’appelle. He came to the Saskatchewan Legislative Building on Tuesday to call on Premier Scott Moe to advocate for federal action.
Senft said the RM’S council declared the municipality “an agricultural disaster area” during its November regular meeting.
He said the declaration has no practical effect, and is mainly meant to draw attention to the struggles of local farmers who still have crop left on their fields. According to Senft, about 30 to 40 per cent remains unharvested due to the weather.
“What was taken off is in a damp or tough state and needs to be dried, and then the costs keep increasing with drying,” he said.
He’s seeking either direct subsidies or adjustments to risk-management programs like Agristability, which provides payments to farmers facing large margin declines due to increased costs, production loss or market conditions.
Senft said the program doesn’t work for farmers.
“I’ve talked to many farmers that have had tough years, and they don’t seem to qualify for it,” he said. “It’s a safety net that just plain doesn’t work.”
Senft and other farmers from his community sat through debate in question period on Tuesday, when NDP leader Ryan Meili raised their plight.
He urged Moe to pressure the federal government to increase the eligibility threshold at which Agristability kicks in to 85 per cent from 70 per cent of historical reference margins. That would cover more farmers through difficult times.
He also called on Moe to request a review of whether a disaster has occurred, the first step for getting support under the Agrirecovery framework.
But Agriculture Minister David Marit rejected the latter approach out of hand. He said unharvested crop simply doesn’t qualify under Agrirecovery, which is meant to cover uninsurable losses.
He said he’s “very confident in the programs we have in place.”
Marit would not commit to advocating for changes to Agristability. He declined to share publicly what his own position is, saying there’s no point doing so until there’s consensus among federal and provincial agriculture ministers, who will soon be meeting in Ottawa.
Meili wouldn’t accept that.
“The minister and the premier have a very clear role to advocate for an Agristability program that’s more accessible,” said Meili. “I don’t know why they don’t want to do that.
“I think he should take a public position.”
Senft put his request on paper in a recent letter to Premier Scott Moe, calling for “financial support for producers.”
He said he was seeking a meeting with the agriculture minister in a bid to put a subsidy for farmers higher on the agenda.
Senft said he did get the meeting. He thanked Meili for bringing up the issue and Marit for making the time to meet with him.
He said he came to Regina to represent his RM, but acknowledged he is a member of one of Saskatchewan’s political parties.
He wouldn’t say which one, but a donor of the same name donated to the Saskatchewan NDP in 2017.
But Senft said that’s beside the point.
He simply wanted to draw attention to the “devastating ” conditions with which farmers are dealing. The human toll is heavy.
“I had one fella tell me, I go to my kid’s hockey game and all I can think about is my crop being out, what it’s going to cost me to dry it, how I’m going to deal with crop insurance, how Agristability’s not going to kick in and help me. That’s just one story,” said Senft.
“If you want to know how it’s affecting people, look at the Farm Stress Line — up 73 per cent from a year ago.”
Marit encouraged farmers to reach out to the Farm Stress Line during his remarks in question period. Meili accused him of dismissing their concerns with that remark.