(OTTAWA) –  Today’s announcement of $755 million will help address some of the immediate farm income problems facing the Canadian grains and oilseeds industry but is not a panacea for farm income issues facing the agri-food industry, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture said today. 

“The farm income crisis is unprecedented in that it has affected all commodities, in particular the grains and oilseeds sectors, but also horticulture and livestock which have awaited effective Business Risk Management and Production Insurance programs for some time,” said Friesen.  “Virtually all of agriculture is in need and we need to ensure that we are supporting agriculture as a whole.”

Back in March, CFA and its members met with governments to discuss the reality of severely depressed farm incomes and the necessity for urgent action. The average farm income over the last three years has been the worst in recorded history. The level of hurt was measured at $1.9 billion per year for three years, just to return producers to some semblance of previous incomes.  New data from AAFC indicates the grains and oilseeds sector alone is falling $2 billion below its average income over the past 10 years, an average income that was already less than adequate.  This shows the hurt is deep and the need is great. 

CFA emphasizes the key now will be flowing the money as quickly as possible in a manner that most effectively meets the level of need in each province and to ensure that all grains are covered.  In its discussions with government, CFA stressed that money flow through the provinces to address provincial specific needs to replace the federal companion program funding that was eliminated under the Agriculture Policy Framework.  The CFA also stresses the payment must not be an offset to the CAIS Program or the money will simply be a cash advance that defers the income deficit without diminishing it.

“We acknowledge that $755 million is a considerable amount of money – there is no question – and we appreciate the federal government has recognized the acute situation in one sector and attempted to address it,” said CFA President Bob Friesen.  “With today’s announcement and the $1 billion Farm Income Payment Program announced in April, we have seen record levels of support but even higher record levels of need.  The issue here is the overall economic and social disaster looming in rural Canada today and in the near future.  Unfortunately this announcement will not work for every province.”

The CFA is focused on finding long-term solutions to achieve farm incomes from the marketplace but current realities necessitate short and medium term actions.  As such, the CFA was encouraged to hear Minister Mitchell, in his remarks today in Embrun, recognize this money is not the total answer to the challenges facing farmers, and his commitment to working with industry in developing further such measures.

 “Transition support is no good if there is nothing to transition from or to, and the CFA is committed to taking leadership to answer the remaining immediate needs and adopt the long-term solutions”, said Friesen.

The CFA will be meeting with Provincial and Federal Agriculture Ministers and their representatives at its Tripartite Roundtable tomorrow in Regina to discuss its vision of moving beyond crisis management.

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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.