New federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald recently made his first visit to Saskatchewan, since taking over the portfolio following the Liberals' election victory in April.
As part of his visit, MacDonald, along with provinicial Ag Minister Daryl Harrison met with the executive board of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), to discuss the issues facing farmers in the province.
APAS President Bill Prybylski says he did have a chance to meet MacDonald a few weeks ago in Ottawa, calling it a "great meeting," where he had a chance to discuss some of the issues facing Saskatchewan producers with the new Ag Minister. Prybylski noted he encouraged MacDonald to make a trip to Saskatchewan, to see first-hand what producers are dealing with.
He called the June 14 meeting, at the farm Senator Todd Lewis, a chance to showcase some of the issues facing Saskatchewan producers, noting they're not seeking large investments, as much as they'd like to see some regulatory issues addressed.
Prybylski notes it was a great opportunity for MacDonald, who is from Prince Edward Island, to build relationships with Saskatchewan producers, and gain a better understanding of the provincial agriculture industry. He says that when it comes time to discuss tougher issues at the table, it helps to have a good relationship going into meetings.
As far as the June 14 meeting goes, Prybylski says APAS didn't dive too deeply into the issues facing Saskatchewan farmers, with discussions being more broad, on topics such as improvements to business risk management programs to address inadequacies, as well as issues dealing with the potential need for drought assistance, concern over rail transportation and port issues, along with the need for changes with the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
He notes trade and tariff issues were also discussed, specifically their potential effect on commodity prices, along the need for Ottawa to work toward eliminating tariffs and barriers when it comes to trading partners such as the United States and China.
Ultimately, Prybylski says he is "cautiously optimistic" that APAS will be able to have a good working relationship with MacDonald, and that they will see some results, noting the Ag Minister was interested in hearing what they had to say, and brought a positive message on behalf of the new Liberal government, recognizing the importance of agriculture to the nation's economy,
