The provinces share a lot of common issues, Margaret Johnson said
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
New Brunswick’s minister of agriculture is of the mind the federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) meeting in Whitehorse in mid-July provides opportunities for realization that issues affecting farmers in one province are likely affecting producers in another province.
“It’s a chance for us to get together and talk about what we’re all going through and realizing that we are going through a lot of common issues,” she told Farms.com. “And addressing them with the federal minister is hugely important.”
Leading up to the FPT meetings, Farms.com is connecting with the provincial and territorial ag leaders about what local issues they’ll be highlighting during the event.
For Johnson, input costs are among the top issues for New Brunswick farmers.
The local ag industry generated $1.2 billion in cash receipts in 2023, but farmers have high costs of production.
“When you’re looking at fuel, feed, seed and fertilizer costs, they’ve all gone through the roof,” she said.
Another item on Minister Johnson’s agenda is support for potato producers through business risk management programs.
Excess rain and other factors hindered the 2023 crop, the minister said.
Margaret Johnson
“We had a soggy year so we’re looking at AgriRecovery and support for our potato producers from the 2023 crop because they were definitely negatively impacted by the climate with things like hollow heart,” she said.
A formal AgriRecovery assessment is taking place, and the minister hopes an announcement on that will come soon.
A third topic important to ag in New Brunswick is attracting young people to the industry.
Locals looking for training in ag typically leave the province to receive it. Developing programs to keep young ag professionals in the province is key for the industry, Minister Johnson said.
“We need to be well positioned for the future and make sure our farmers have the right tools and technologies available to them,” she said.
Multiple ministers have indicated collaborating with one another to present a united message to the federal government during the FPT meeting.
Minister Johnson points to the grocery code of conduct as an area where provinces and territories can work together.
“Quebec has led the charge on that, and we hope we can bring that across the line,” she said. “The Canadian public has been so hit with costs when it comes to groceries and feeding themselves.”
Another is disease preparedness.
Keeping livestock diseases like African swine fever out of Canada is something ministers, and industry alike should support, she said.
“ASF would decimate the pork industry if it got into the country, so we’re continuing to have strong collaboration between the FPT governments, and industry, making sure we have a management plan in place and looking at cost-shared responses on that.”
H5N1 making its way through U.S. dairy cattle should also be of concern, Minister Johnson said.
“We need to pay very close attention to that, make sure the public understands that it hasn’t been detected in Canada and that the pasteurization process kills the bacteria,” she said. “
Farms.com also connected with ministers in Alberta, B.C. and the Northwest Territories about the upcoming FPT meeting.
In addition, the federal minister provided his thoughts leading up to next month’s gathering.
Strengthening Canadian ag is a shared responsibility, Minister MacAulay said.
Be sure to visit Farms.com often as more responses from provincial and territorial agriculture ministers will come in the days and weeks ahead.