Investing in a strong, secure farm sector
Cattle producers tried their best to put on a brave face this week as they got together for the annual Easter Beef Show and Sale in Charlottetown.
But the grim reality is that entries were at a record low and many wondered if there would be much of an industry left by this time next year. Beef and hog producers, especially, continue to struggle, and with no solutions in sight, many have to make career decisions in the upcoming months — stay and risk going deeper into debt, or get out now and salvage what they can.
Two federal announcements this week did little to ease farmers' fears or offer much hope for the future. Monday, on the eve of the federal budget, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz finally announced long-awaited changes to an assistance program that allows for advance payments to producers. The money is a loan, repayable after 18 months, and is based on the hope that market conditions will improve. Farmers who access the program run the risk of only sinking deeper into debt. The federal budget offered lukewarm measures that will help farmers invest in value-added processing and in renewable energy. It was small consolation for farmers in desperate need. As one producer said, it's a great program as long as prices are up a year and a half from now and one can start paying back. It's a gamble. But taking a risk is the lifestyle of the average farmer on P.E.I. What they need is cash and base price guarantees that will exceed the costs of production.
One can make the argument that even with these two federal announcements, farmers are in exactly the same position today as they were last week. Over the past year, the Canadian livestock sector has been hit with a perfect storm of events that have combined to cripple the industry: falling prices, rising input costs, a high-value Canadian dollar and loss of processing capacity. The diversion of corn and barley stocks to biofuel and ethanol production has sent feed prices skyrocketing. The reality is, Canada's domestic food supply is in jeopardy as we become more dependent on imports. But when the day comes that those markets get more expensive or collapse, then what will we have left? We cannot turn P.E.I. farming on and off like a water spigot.
