News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2004

(OTTAWA) - Emerging from the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), Canadian farm leaders have one message for federal and provincial governments: Canadian producers are in desperate need, and that need must be addressed with the greatest urgency.

“We were pleased to have Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Bob Speller here to listen to our concerns. We are confident he understands the depth and the urgency of the situation,” said Bob Friesen, President of the CFA. “Now we want to reinforce that message to the rest of the federal government. They need to get money directly to farmers right now in a way that does not just simply defer the problem and does not damage market revenue.”

CFA members, representing over 200,000 producers from every province and commodity sector in Canada, agreed the federal government must work immediately to get money directly to producers. Federal support must address two key areas of need: compensation for the whole ruminant livestock sector, suffering from the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis, and; compensation to address chronic low income across all industry sectors.

“For the first year ever, since farm income data has been recorded, we actually have negative realized net farm income in Canada,” Friesen pointed out. “In the long term, governments must work together with producers to bring the industry to profitability. But we must ensure our producers have the support they need right now, so they can hold on until that goal is realized.”

CFA members also agreed with Minister Speller it is imperative for provincial governments to sign on to the amendments to the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program (CAISP) as it represents an important step in building a better program for producers.

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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 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.