|
From something I wrote in 1990:
The agricultural base of the Prairie Provinces
is no longer secure. Grain farmers have, even recently, enjoyed some good
times along with the bad. Many farms are still economically viable, but there
is now a shadow of debt and uncertain markets hanging over the entire farming
sector. Economic conditions in agriculture have worsened, and subsidies and
the cry for even higher subsidies have become a preoccupation of both farmers
and government. The president of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was recently
quoted as saying that the one billion dollars in deficiency payments to
Canadian farmers in 1986 was not enough, and that $2.6 billion is needed for
prairie farmers alone. His chief executive officer, observed that
Saskatchewan's "...entire realized net farm income of $739-million resulted
from support or insurance programs." (Canadian Press, Nov. 18, 1987) The
federal government recently responded by announcing a $2.8 billion farm
assistance program, which will include a $1.1 billion cash payout to grain
farmers, and a $1 billion debt write off. (Bertin, 1987)
Ed
Ed Weick
577 Melbourne Ave.
Ottawa, ON, K2A
1W7
Canada
Phone (613) 728 4630
Fax (613)
728 9382
|
