Mr. Speaker, I am speaking today about a summer drought that became a winter drought and is now leading into a spring drought for the farmers of the Thunder Bay, Rainy River, Algoma and Kenora districts.
I realize that this drought is also affecting Peace River, Alberta, and Peace River, British Columbia, and southwestern Saskatchewan.
We know that the compounding of summer drought and a lack of snow over the winter has presented a whole series of problems.
The lack of snow cover has allowed for a deep penetration of ground frost. There has been a higher than normal winterkill of crops. The pasture land yields have been greatly reduced. Pasture weeds are likely to increase this summer. There has been increased soil erosion and it will continue.
Water levels in surrounding area lakes are also at record lows. Many local wells have low water levels. Indeed, people have had to truck in water.
There is also the revenue loss due to the reduction in the weight of the cattle, lower pregnancy rates in cows and inconvenient market timing for cattle sales.
There are increased capital costs for hauling, acquiring water, purchasing hay, purchasing replacement animals for breeding livestock, fencing new pasture land, digging new wells and installing new emergency pumps for livestock. Just the water needs alone for cattle are cumbersome and costly during times of drought.
Producers were forced to sell breeding livestock for $200 to $300 per animal last fall just to provide food and water for the remaining animals. This creates a significant net loss for farm producers, so they already have a shortage of cash, and they need the cash now for immediate costs like spring planting and the feeding and the purchasing of breeding livestock.
To compound all of this, there is an increased fire risk, and on top of all of it, there is the inconvenience and the impossibility of business planning for the coming year.
We can imagine the tremendous stress that has occurred. Help is needed.
Recently I received correspondence from the Minister of Agriculture and Food for Saskatchewan, who has requested of the federal government that funding be made immediately available in an on-farm livestock water development program to address producers' immediate needs for water access.
I thank the minister for declaring the tax deferral on the drought-induced sales for those areas affected. It will help, but the problem now is so infrastructural, so deep and so widespread that federal intervention is required immediately.
Historically it has been the federal government that has taken the lead on these types of disasters, such as the ice storm or recently in Quebec the golden nematode for potato producers, with a disaster program that was not required to be cost shared.
I know that my fellow MPs from the other drought areas share my concerns. I know that the parliamentary secretary for agriculture said there was a lot of money, so now I must ask, when will the drought-stricken farmers receive theirs?