Legislative Report

Reinstate Spot Loss Hail Coverage

The spring session of the Legislature is well under way. It began with an emergency debate on agriculture. In my agriculture report in the newsletter that I sent to all homes just before Christmas, I spoke of the hit all of us involved in agriculture are all taking from low commodity prices and how the NDP government does nothing but blame other people. Since that time not much has changed but the prices for what we grow have dropped even lower.

There has been the realization by the provincial government that the time to deal with the education portion of property taxes on agricultural land, had long since passed and they have come to the plate with a start of some long needed changes.

This spring as farmers are deciding what to grow, if they can afford to fertilize and what will give them the best bang for their buck, it would be a perfect time for the government to reinstatement spot loss hail insurance as part of the crop insurance plan.

This was a considerable loss to the coverage provided as spot loss coverage works and was good for producers. Since spot loss is under the control of the province, it can be restored without federal coordination. The reinstatement of spot loss hail insurance is not going to repair the damage that has been done to the agriculture industry but in an industry that has not seen a hand up for a long while, it is some way the government can help farmers protect themselves.

Past Legislative Reports