Premier, Ministers, and local MLAs tour Flooded Farmlands. 

In the wake of what many are calling the one of the wettest springs in history, your Saskatchewan Party government has been visiting affected families, farmers and communities in northeast Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister and Melville-Saltcoats MLA Bob Bjornerud began tours recently with Crown Investment Corporation Minister and Kelvington-Wadena MLA, June Draude, by covering the rural municipality of Foam Lake and area.  Premier Brad Wall and Carrot River Valley MLA Fred Bradshaw joined the Ministers on another aerial and ground tour of northeast and east-central Saskatchewan that have received excess amounts of moisture.

The areas toured so far include Nipawin, Tisdale, Hudson Bay, Porcupine Plain, Kelvington, Rose Valley, Lintlaw, Arborfield, Bjorkdale, Lanigan, Wynyard, Foam Lake, Watson, Naicam, Kuroki and Wadena areas. 

"This spring has been frustrating for many farmers who are trying to get their crops seeded," Bjornerud said. "Seeing the wet conditions first hand gives me a better grasp of the challenges producers in these areas are facing."

Our government understands that farmers are frustrated – some producers have less than 20 per cent of their crops seeded at a time when 96 per cent of the provincial crop is usually in the ground.  That's why government representatives met with producers and rural municipality representatives and witnessed the wet conditions first hand to get a better grasp of the challenges facing our producers. 

Many rural municipalities have declared themselves an “agriculture disaster area” due to the heavy rainfall that has left up to 30 per cent of the crops unseeded across the province.  Insured farmers can receive up to $50 per eligible acre on land that cannot be seeded because of the weather conditions through Saskatchewan Crop Insurance.  In addition, Crop Insurance also provides coverage for seeded crops that fail to establish due to flooding. The provincial government is also looking at options for additional support. 

Premier Wall was recently in Vancouver for the Western Premier’s Conference, and his western counterparts called on the federal government to come to the table with federal dollars to help producers whose livelihoods are being drowned out by one of the rainiest springs on record.

"We're calling on our ministers ... (and) also the federal government to work within the framework of an existing group of programs and to look at different alternatives and ideas to make sure we help producers and farmers on the Prairies," Wall said in an interview at the Western Premier’s Conference.  "And that we ensure the ongoing viability of the agricultural industry."

Recently, Minister Bjornerud invited federal Agriculture Minister and Saskatchewan MP Gerry Ritz to visit the affected areas.  He also called on the Harper government to provide additional federal dollars to support farmers above and beyond Saskatchewan Crop Insurance’s $50 per acre payout for unseeded land.

"We're certainly going to be here for our producers in the province. You know, agriculture is so important for our economy in the province and we're going to stand behind our producers," Bjornerud said in an interview with the Regina Leader Post.