RRFA to deal with farm

Ken Johnston

When a crisis occurs people can do one of two things. They can either do nothing and walk away or take the bull by the horns and seek a solution.
Trish Neilson, President of the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture (RRFA), said the RRFA has decided to do the latter in regards to the series of hardships causing the district agriculture community to be in a crisis situation.
While the US border being closed to Canadian live cattle for the past two years is a major problem for cattle producers, Neilson said there are many other problems facing farmers today that are equally important.
Costs of farming like energy, insurance, equipment and supplies have all gone up an average of 23% while farm prices for cattle, hogs, poultry, oilseeds, grains and other farm products have actually declined by an average of 8%. At the same time the retail prices have gone up significantly with little or none of that increase going back to farmers. With that in mind, a recent presentation by district farmer Kim Cornell noted that the number of farms in the district has declined from 380 in 1986 to 320 in 2001. Total farm cash receipts in the region have dropped from $15 million in 1986 to $12 million in 2003.
Neilson said the RRFA has called together anyone from the various ag sectors in the district to meet on March 30 at the Barwick Hall. RRFA has hired a facilitator to help them go over the strengths and weaknesses of the district’s ag. industry. From that she hopes they will develop a plan for the next several years. “We will have a lot to do in one day, but if we do nothing we will be going backwards fast.”
The day is open to all and Neilson is hoping that by coming together that they can find solutions for problems facing the industry. “Developing a local plan for a sustainable agricultural industry is a major undertaking that requires serious cooperative efforts between all agricultural stakeholders. It will require innovative thinking from the farm communities and innovative policy from our politicians,” said Neilson.
RRFA is asking anyone interested in attending to RSVP by Thursday as they need to know how many people to expect. To do so call Trish Neilson at 487-2519, Linda Armstrong 852-3645, Rick Boersema 483-5393 or Angela Halverson 274-9002. Anyone wishing to submit their thoughts or ideas on the issues facing the industry can also so by calling Neilson.