MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY – Newly announced federal money being made available to the agriculture community through the Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is welcome news, but certainly not a solution to all the challenges currently facing the industry, says Jeff Nielsen, an Olds-area farmer and chairman of the 60,000-member Grain Growers of Canada (GGC).
The government announced last week that it is boosting Farm Credit Canada (FCC) lending capacity by $5 billion, including some loan payment deferral provisions.
“It may help some producers, but it is additional debt,” said Nielsen. “If you can apply for additional debt then it’s like any loan. If you meet the requirements then and you are eligible then you can take it on, and there are options to defer interest and principle for a period of time or defer principle for a period of time.
“It could help some individuals in some areas but it is still debt and you are still obliged to pay it. It’s not the answer yet, not the solution yet.”
The GGC would also like to see reforms to business risk management programs, he said.
“There are still changes that need to be made there to allow farmers to manage their businesses better,” he said. “We're caught in a situation where there are trade wars affecting us.
“And although the railroads are running well, they are behind 1.25 million metric tonnes of grain. You can’t put that on the rails overnight. There are people that are still waiting to ship grain.”
In the Mountain View County area, producers are going to be harvesting and planting in the near future, he noted.
FCC is a federal corporation that reports to Parliament through the minister of agriculture and agri-food. President Michael Hoffort said the $5 billion announced last week should help ensure producers, agri businesses and food processors continue to have access to necessary capital.
“I want to assure you that amidst the uncertainty everyone is facing at work and home, our team is actively planning how to best support the agriculture and food industry in the days and months ahead,” Hoffort said in a media release.
“Maintaining industry strength is essential to Canada overcoming these uncertain economic times. The challenges in front of us are real.”
In announcing the $5 billion in new money, Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal minister of agriculture and agri-food, said, "(Agriculture producers') continued work is essential to our plan to manage COVID-19. The measures announced will provide farmers and food producers across the country with important financial flexibility they will need during these challenging times.”
Meanwhile, the Alberta Wheat Commission and the Alberta Barley Commission have joined the GGC in calling for continued government support of the national rail system.
With spring planting right around the corner, producers want to ensure that the transportation system is able to meet requirements, Tom Steve, general manager of the two commissions, said in a release.
“We’re getting assurances from the railways and the grain companies that’s going to be the case,” said Steve. “Farmers need the resulting cash flow to pay their lines of credit to purchase seed, fertilizer and crop production products and get the 2020 crop in the soil.
“There are a lot of moving parts and there’s a very narrow window to get all of that completed by roughly the end of May when you’d want to have the crop in the ground.”
