Farm Federation calls for military support to deal with prairie drought

News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 16, 2002

OTTAWA - Government assistance is urgently needed for drought mitigation efforts, reports CFA President Bob Friesen following his tour of several bone-dry prairie regions. Most importantly, help is required to move hay from eastern Canada to western farms.

"The outpouring of support from those in the east has provided a lifeline to growers on the receiving end. Now the government is needed to better connect one side to the other. I can say from my observations that many see it as the government's duty to boost the massive volunteer effort and arrange transport for the donated feed.

"This is nothing short of a military exercise," says Friesen of his observations. "I have no doubt that if the Minister of Agriculture visited for himself he'd agree that several areas should be declared disaster regions. Emergency help is required to resolve the challenging logistics of dealing with drought."

Latest reports from organizers of the Hay West campaign say they have collected enough livestock feed to fill approximately 350 more railcars (over an above those already assigned); resources just waiting for delivery. While farmers are very grateful for government's earlier commitment to move 100 cars, the dire conditions show much more is required to feed hungry animals. In fact, Hay West organizers report those hundred cars were collected and loaded before the government offered to cover some of the freight costs.

"Traveling over the last week, I talked to many exasperated farmers who've done everything they can to salvage their investment but are blocked by circumstances beyond their control," said Friesen.

CFA applauds the tremendous efforts of local farm groups who have created communication networks connecting farmers who have hay available. Farmers can assist each other via listing sites such as the Feed Connection, a section of the Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan (APAS) web site, www.apas.ca. Further coordination by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (www.ofa.on.ca) and the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture has strengthened the movement to help western growers. CFA's national web site also features useful links for farmers (www.cfa-fca.ca).

"The long-term impact of this drought will be felt for years, not just in the agricultural industry but in the rural communities and Canada's economy as a whole, as farm businesses and herds, built-up over generations, are liquidated," said Friesen. Farm leaders will continue their work with governments to design comprehensive long-term programs for risk management on farms. CFA acknowledges the progress of the Agricultural Policy Framework and reiterates its concern that safety net components such as disaster programs and crop insurance must be flexible and complete in order to meet producer's needs.

CFA Contacts:

Kieran Green or Janice Hall, CFA Communications Officers, (613) 236-3633 ext. 222, info@cfafca.ca

Bob Friesen, CFA President, (204) 724-0824 (cell)

Brigid Rivoire, CFA Executive Director, (613) 236-3633 / (613) 715-3113 (cell)

HAY WEST Office Contact:

Cathy Willoughby: 1-866-429-9378

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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest national farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.