My Speeches

Agricultural Assistance for Drought Recovery

Posted on Apr 13, 2010

The Speaker: The hon. Member for Battle River-Wainwright,
followed by the hon. Member for Calgary-Buffalo.

Agricultural Assistance for Drought Recovery

Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Eight years ago we had the
worst drought in the province’s history, and quite frankly we’ve had
a lot of dry years between then and now. This is making farmers
very nervous, especially this spring, when we’ve started off very dry.
To the Minister of Agriculture. Every single farmer in this province
knows that we’ve never lost a crop in April, but they’re nervous,
they need confidence, and they want to know what your department
has done to prepare for what may be another very bad year.

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. Hayden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It has in fact been a very,
very difficult year on top of several before it. This past summer, as
an example, we experienced the worst drought conditions since the
Dirty Thirties, and this past winter, according to Environment
Canada, the prairie provinces received precipitation that was at a 60 year
low. We are working with the programs that we have to try to
assist the farmers in any area that we can with respect to risk
management and other areas.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Given that this may be a
very unique situation and another serious drought year, what programs are
in place to help farmers through this now in the spring
and in the fall?

Mr. Hayden: Mr. Speaker, we have in place a number of risk
management programs that take into consideration the crop yields,
as an example, the financial situation over a five-year period that a
farmer experiences, insurance for pasture, insurance for forage.
Those risk management tools are in place. We also have programs
in place for Alberta producers that are outside of what some of the
other provinces offer.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Mr. Griffiths: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same minister:
given the fact that AgriRecovery is specifically designed to help
with drought disasters like the one we may have this year and it’s
being negotiated with the feds as we speak, what assurances are
there in place that AgriRecovery will be there this year if farmers
need it?

Mr. Hayden: Mr. Speaker, the drought situation that I spoke about
previously shows in many areas in the province the most extreme
conditions of drought that we’ve experienced, as I say, in many
years. There has been tax deferral allowed by the federal government
in approximately 50 of our rural municipalities in this province,
which indicates the severity of this problem. We are working
with the federal government on AgriRecovery, and I’m hopeful that
we can conclude our discussions with the federal government and
move towards helping the producers out there as quickly as possible.