Economic, Trade and Strategic Growth Committee

2009 Committee members

The 2010-2011 Economic , Trade and Strategic Growth Committee is made up of the following APAS Board members and Representatives:

 

If you have specific issues or concerns you would like to address with the committee members, please use the CONTACT US link above and include "Economic Committee" in the subject line.

Proposed Agenda

August 13, 2010

APAS Mid Term Resolutions, December 2009

 Ongoing Action Plan

Updated July 26/10

 Economic, Trade & Strategic Growth

ETSG1. Be it resolved that APAS accept the Final Report “Strategies and Recommendations for New Entrant and Intergenerational Transfer Program Needs” from the study conducted by Al Scholz.

Time:              

·         Immediate.

Actions:          

·         Report has been distributed and posted electronically.

ETSG2. Be it resolved that the APAS Mid Term Meeting direct the Executive and Staff to study the Scholz report in more detail and prioritize:  actions that APAS can take; recommendations that can be made to policy makers; and resolutions that could go forward to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

Time:              

·         Immediate to short term

Actions:          

·         Based on committee analysis of the report, three resolutions were forwarded to CFA, all passed (see below).

·         Executive and GM develop and maintain plan for actionable items.

·         Develop relationship with young farmer organizations.

·         Find out more about possible funding from Growing Forward for Ag30 course.

Resolutions from the report that passed at the CFA AGM, February 2010:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT CFA and its members work with the Federal and Provincial Ministries of Agriculture on a strategy to immediately improve communication and coordination among all stakeholders directly supporting programs to attract new entrants to agriculture.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the CFA urge the federal government to broaden the eligibility criteria of the Farm Business Development Initiatives within Growing Forward to include people who will be employed by farmers as business managers.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the CFA continue to urge the federal government to promote agricultural supports as strategic investments in the national economy.

ETSG3. Be it resolved that general farm organizations, including APAS, have direct participation in the upcoming federal-provincial review of the Growing Forward policy framework for farm support programs.

Time:              

·         Immediate.

Actions:          

·         This resolution was forwarded to CFA but is already standing policy.

·         Greg has ongoing involvement in CFA work on BRMs.

·         Nial/Doug have ongoing involvement in CFA BRM committee.

·         We lobbied governments for presence in the discussions through the winter.

·         Greg attended the Agriculture 2020 meeting held June 10 in Regina.

·         Greg/Nial attended meeting of Fed/Prov ag ministers sponsored by CFA on July 5.

o   BRMs were on the agenda and continuing concerns about inadequacies in the programs were brought forward (see attached article).

ETSG4. Be it resolved that the interest free portion of the cash advance programs be increased from $100,000 to $300,000.

Time:              

·         Immediate.

Actions:

·         Resolution was forward to CFA AGM, was passed.

·         Wrote to federal minister(s) responsible to request the change.

ETSG5. Be it resolved that the AgriInvest program rules be changed to allow unused annual producer and matching government contribution levels to be carried forward to future years.

Time:              

·         Short term.

Actions:          

·         Wrote to federal Minister.

·         Resolution was forwarded to CFA, was put under similar resolution from PEI (see below).

·         Greg discussed with Minister Ritz.

·         Discuss with provincial Minister to get MoAg on board (Greg/Nial).

o   Provincial safety net committee member could carry the ball.

·         Talk to KAP, WRAP, other GFOs to identify any common interest.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the PEIFA and CFA lobby the Federal

Government to reinstate the option for participants to deem their eligible contribution to

AgriInvest as previously allowed in 2007.

ETSG6. Be it resolved that APAS request the federal government to reinstate the 10% federal tax credit for purchase of farm machinery.

Time:              

·         Short term.

Actions:          

·         Discuss implications of resolutions with Board, e.g. inclusion of used.

·         Forward recommendation to federal government AAFC, Revenue.

·         Talk to KAP, WRAP, other GFOs to identify any common interest.

Notes:             

·         Concerns about including used equipment with new.

·         Question about maybe focusing on Canadian built equipment.

ETSG7. Be it resolved that APAS encourage the Ministry of Agriculture to enter a positive return per acres in the labour and management cell of their cost of production Guides.

Time:              

·         Immediate.

Actions:          

·         Wrote MoAg requesting change.  Response from MoAg was that they will continue to leave it blank and allow producers to fill in their own numbers.

ETSG8. Be it resolved that APAS meet with federal and provincial officials to discuss the development of functional futures markets for major commodities such as peas, lentils, and flax.

Time:              

·         Medium to long term.

Actions:          

·         Discussed at ET&SG committee conference call Jan. 13. 

o   It was decided that more research is needed on the issue, particularly what volumes would be required by a commodity exchange to support a futures contract.

o   Also recommended that we consult further with Ken Rosaasen about the issue and how to research it.

·         Refer to Grains & Oilseeds Committee also.

·         Background research – should be done/funded by industry and/or governments.

·         Identify federal and provincial experts, discuss.

·         Identify interested industry stakeholders for discussion, joint effort.

·         Talk to KAP/WRAP.

Notes:             

·         Recent reports suggest the feed barley futures market is not working well.

·         Low volumes of grain sold make an open futures market difficult to sustain.

 

 

Committee Conference Call Minutes

May 10, 2010

Present:  Dorothy Weetman, Ken Rosaasen, David Spencer, Todd Lewis, Nial Kuyek, Don Connick, Arlynn Kurtz, Greg Marshall.

 

Chairperson Dorothy Weetman called the meeting to order. 

 

The agenda was adopted by agreement.

 

M/S Kurtz/Rosaasen nominating Dorothy Weeman as chairperson; Connick/Kurtz that nominations cease; Dorothy elected as chair of the committee for 2010-11.

 

The secretarial role for the committee is to be fulfilled by staff.

 

ET&SG Resolutions Update

 

The committee resolutions from the March AGM were reviewed.  The resulting updated action plan is attached below. 

 

Adjourned

 

 

APAS Resolutions 2010 AGM (March) Action Plan – Updated July 20/10

 

Economic, Trade & Strategic Growth

 

ETSG1. BE IT RESOLVED that the CFA lobby the federal government for changes to AgriInvest that would increase the contribution rate on eligible net sales to three percent and raise the aggregate contribution limit to $200,000.

 

Action:

 

ETSG2. BE IT RESOLVED that APAS support the efforts of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture to establish a national food strategy for Canada.

 

Action:

 

WHEREAS budgeting for public research by Agriculture & AgriFood Canada has declined dramatically since 1994; and

 

WHEREAS public agriculture research, particularly through research stations, has produced a very high return on investment and contributed enormous direct economic benefit to agricultural producers;

 

ETSG3. BE IT RESOLVED that APAS work through the CFA and with organizations with similar objectives to lobby the federal government to restore core funding levels for public agriculture research to 1994 levels.

 

Action:

 

Notes:

 

WHEREAS budgeting for public research by Agriculture & AgriFood Canada has declined dramatically since 1994; and

 

WHEREAS public agriculture research, particularly through research stations, has produced a very high return on investment and contributed enormous direct economic benefit to agricultural producers;

 

ETSG3. BE IT RESOLVED that APAS work through the CFA and with organizations with similar objectives to lobby the federal government to restore core funding levels for public agriculture research to 1994 constant dollar levels.

Committee Meeting Minutes

October 16, 2009

Economic/Trade/Strategic Growth Committee Meeting

Present:  Dorothy Weetman, Greg Marshall, Arlynn Kurtz, David Spencer, Al Scholz, Ken Rosaasen, Nial Kuyek, Doug Faller.

 

Chairperson Dorothy Weetman called the meeting to order. 

 

Agenda

Greg Marshall requested an opportunity to discuss the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) being drafted by the Premiers.  Agreed.

 

Motion Kurtz that the agenda be adopted as amended.  Carried.

 

Minutes

Motion Marshall that the minutes of the August 19/09 meeting be adopted as presented.  Carried.

 Agreement on Internal Trade 

Greg Marshall reported on concerns being raised, particularly by the CFA, about both the content of the agreement and the process by which it is being drafted by the Premiers.  The CFA was promised input into the process a year ago but has not been consulted since, nor has APAS.  The Premiers’ working group has refused to share the text of the draft agreement with agricultural organizations.  Strong concerns have been expressed by the CFA about the possibility that supply management will not be protected by the agreement

 New Entrants & Intergenerational Transfer Study 

Al Scholz presented his draft recommendations to the committee and sought input from the group, particularly around how the recommendations aligned with the terms of reference, which Al had reviewed at the outset.  Good discussion accompanied the presentation.  Al will incorporate suggestions and gather information as needed.  He will circulate a redraft to the committee for review that will become the final report draft presented to the mid term meeting in early December.

 AgriStability 

Nial reported that an initial meeting had been held with two officials from Meyers, Norris, Penny (MNP) about the AgriStability program.  The intent is to have a meeting (October 26) of the prairie farm leaders and a representative from each provincial organization with MNP experts on the AgriStability program to discuss problems that exist within AgriStability, whether those problems can be fixed and, if not, what alternative program design options exist.  A possible outcome of the process would be a joint APAS/KAP/WRAP study.

 

Committee members identified concerns about the vested interest MNP has in the program and flagged the need to control potential costs.  It was agreed to go ahead with the MNP meeting with the prairie farm leaders as an exploratory meeting to assess the program and identify legitimate problems.  Ken Rosaasen will be the APAS rep attending the meeting.

 Transportation 

Nial provided an overview of the key transportation issues and Doug provided details, particularly about the producer car delisting and the current CTA reviews of cost of capital methodologies and the industry development fund. 

 

Arlynn Kurtz raised two key questions related to producer cars:

 
  1. Are the railways already being paid under the revenue cap to maintain the producer car sidings?  Response:

·         A verbal inquiry to the CTA suggests that in fact the cost of maintaining producer car sidings is embedded within the revenue cap (so long as the siding was originally owned by the railway).  We have written to the CTA to have them provided a written answer to this question.

 
  1. Would it be possible to seek an injunction to stop CN from removing the sidings?  Response:

·         An inquiry through Dr. Beke reveals that the Hall Commission (1970) restated the producers’ rights to load cars but also recommended that the railways be allowed to remove a siding “if no producer cars are loaded in the 12 month period following closure of the elevator, or if adequate alternate spotting arrangements are available”.  Thus, it appears that the legal viability of a site is dependent on usage within a year after the closure of an elevator at that site.  This can be overridden if the railway decides that an alternative site is available.

 Canadian Grain Commission 

The re-introduction of Bill C13 was discussed and concerns were expressed about the potential negative impact of the bill in two areas – producer payment protection and inward inspections at terminals.

 

Ken Rosaasen provided an overview of inward and outward inspections.  Doug was asked to research the functions of inward and outward inspections.  Information gathered since the meeting:

·         Attached is an overview from the CGC of inward and outward inspections services they provide.

·         Attached are excerpts from a 2006 Meyers Norris Penny (MNP) study into inward inspections within the CGC. 

o       MNP used as guidelines three “principle outcomes” that emanate from the Canada Grain Act:  1) Support Canada’s grain quality and quantity assurance systems; 2) protect the integrity of grain transactions; and 3) support producer protection.

o       Of 17 specific outcomes (e.g. grade and arbitration, monitoring for ineligible varieties, unload investigations re grade or weight) that relate to inward inspections, the study concludes that all but two must be maintained if the CGC is no longer responsible for inward inspections in order to achieve the three principle outcomes.

o       The study suggests that all of these ‘must haves’ can be achieved in a deregulated system.

o       Assuming the CGC no longer conducts inward inspections, the study asks;  “If these functions are to continue … who will perform the function, what will it cost to continue the function, who will pay for it?”

o       The bottom line on the MNP study is that it provided estimates of cost savings to the CGC (not overall to the system) of eleven different scenarios of deregulating inward inspections, which ranged from a reduction of $12.3 million to an additional cost of $600,005.

·         In terms of cost savings, it is unlikely that unit costs to the system will be reduced for the same inspection services since they will become fees for service paid to private suppliers.

·         Costs to producers are likely to rise since they are user pay and not funded in part by taxpayers dollars to maintain a dedicated, system-wide organization in the CGC.

·         There will be a lack of efficiency if specific functions are deregulated so that many specific stakeholders will need to source services from private suppliers rather than having a dedicated organization acting in everyone’s interests.

·         Changes to inward inspection will shift liability and responsibilities for inward inspection (sampling and weighing) to the owner of the grain. 

o       Notably, that means the CWB for all Board grains, even though the grain would be shipped from a primary to terminal elevator owned by the same grain handling company. 

o       It might be argued that the only true cost savings to the overall system would accrue from non-Board grains where the owners of the grain, the primary elevator, and the terminal elevator are one and the same.

·         The deregulation of inspections would come at a time when the need for inward inspections is increasing dramatically because of health-related trade barriers.  A very good example of this is Triffid flax for which an inward inspection protocol has recently been put in place to sample rail cars for Triffid as it departs primary elevators and have it tested before the cars arrive at terminals.

·         Removal of inward inspections will reduce transparency into the relationship between what arrives at port and what is shipped out.

 Land Trusts (update) 

Doug has found information in the December 2009 issue of agAdvance (to be attached in hard copy) about land trusts, which elaborates on what was presented at the August 19 meeting.

·         The article mentions two trusts with a Saskatchewan connection – Assiniboia Land Trust and AgCapita in Calgary.  While AgCapita has its eye on Saskatchewan, the article makes no mention of it owning land here, so it does appear that Assiniboia is the only trust owning land in the province.

·         While Assiniboia is set up as limited partnerships (thus, not RSP eligible), AgCapita has structured its fund to be RSP and TFSA eligible.  Thus, if AgCapita does purchase land here, it will create competition aided by the tax system for Saskatchewan farm owners.

 

The question is still unanswered whether, or how, regular Saskatchewan farm owners could qualify their land holding as RSP eligible.

 

 

Committee Meeting Minutes

Aug 19, 2009

Present:  Dorothy Weetman, Greg Marshall, Arlynn Kurtz, David Spencer, Al Scholz, Ken Rosaasen, Nial Kuyek, Doug Faller.

Chairperson Dorothy Weetman opened the meeting and invited a round of introductions.

Agenda

M/S Rosaasen/Spencer that the agenda be adopted as presented.  Carried.

Minutes

M/S Rosaasen/Marshall that the minutes of the June 16/09 meeting be adopted as presented.  Carried.

New Entrants & Intergenerational Transfer Study

 Land Trusts

Some discussion was held about the possible advantages that investors in land trusts have through the tax system over farm owners in the purchase of land.  Doug Faller was asked to do some background analysis of the issue.

AgriStability

Ken Rosaasen will be participating on an interprovincial study of the AgriStability program, with a meeting expected the end of October, that will include the presidents of the three Prairie farm organizations, three provincial reps and a Meyers Norris Penny rep.

Producer Payment Security

After an update on action taken (e.g. the Scott Wolfe study), and developments with Bill C13, the Committee recommends APAS push for maintaining the current bonding system.

Scholarship

It was recommended that a decision to implement an APAS sponsored scholarship be deferred until the 2010-11 fiscal year due to financial constraints.  A motion to do so (Spencer/Kurtz) was carried.

Sask Crop Insurance Board

Concerns were expressed about the lack of farmer participation on the SCIC Board.  It was agreed to review the history of farmer involvement and move toward having a resolution developed to have a farmer on the Board.

Research since the August 19 meeting (see Appendix 1 attached) has revealed that the SCIC Board has had known farmer presence continuously to at least 2007-08 from at least 1999-2000.  The 2008-2009 Annual Report states about the Board of Directors that “All members are either involved in farm operations or have an agricultural background.”  It is not known whether any current Board members are actively engaged in farming.

Transportation

It was agreed that APAS should urge the federal government to implement the Transport Commission’s freight cap costing decisions.  It was also agreed that a review of service would be helpful to address inconsistencies and low levels of service.  It was suggested that we might benefit from looking at work done by previous shipper coalitions to identify service issues.

A question was raised about the recent decision to change freight rates that apply to winter wheat.  Here is a response to the question based on a conversation with a CWB official and research of their website, subsequent to the meeting of August 19:


 

APPENDIX 1: SCIC Board of Directors, 1999-2000 to 2008-2009

Committee Minutes

June 16, 2009

Present:  Dorothy Weetman, Stan Novogrodski, Ken Rosaasen, David Spencer, Greg Marshall, Nial Kuyek, and Al Scholz (morning only).

Adoption of Agenda

M/S  Rosaasen/ Novogrodski:  That the Agenda be adopted as presented.

Carried

Adoption of Minutes of the Previous Meeting

M/S  Spencer/Marshall:  That the Minutes of the meeting of the Economic, Trade, and Strategic Growth Committee of March 19, 2009 be adopted as presented.

Carried  

New Entrant and Intergenerational Transfer Programs Initiative

General Manager Nial Kuyek reviewed the intergenerational transfer resolutions passed by APAS at its December, 2008 AGM and by CFA at its February, 2009 AGM.  Nial indicated that APAS has decided to engage a consultant to undertake a study of young farmer programs and that the Board of Directors asked that this Committee be the sounding board and working group for this project.  The overall objective is to review existing programs provincially, nationally and internationally and to develop policy options for APAS and CFA member organizations to consider.  Al Scholz of A.N. Scholz and Associates Inc was then introduced as the consultant selected for the project.  Nial reviewed the draft Terms of Reference for the initiative and was followed by Al Scholz who reviewed the draft work plan that had been developed for the project to that point.  The Committee provided useful feedback on the terms of reference and work plan particularly with respect to the need to include the taxation framework as part of this examination.

It was agreed that the next meeting of the Committee would be Friday, August 14, 2009 and that Mr. Scholz would present an interim report to the Committee.

AgriStability

Nial Kuyek reported that KAP and WRAP are potentially interested in a study of the shortcomings of and potential improvements to AgriStability depending on the costs involved.  Nial indicated that, before approaching Meyers Norris Penny and other such consultants, he wished to discuss some key questions with the Committee.  Are there credible alternatives to Meyers Norris Penny?  Who are they?  Do we know the issues well enough to structure a Terms of Reference for a study or is further internal discussion desirable? 

Barry Harris, Clayton Jackson, and Cecilia Oliver were identified as potential options to Meyers Norris Penny.  It was agreed that APAS should organize a meeting involving 6 APAS RM Representatives and some accountant experts to identify the legitimate problems and potential solutions.  This sorting out of issues will determine if a full study is necessary and, if so, what the Terms of Reference should be.

Ownership of Saskatchewan Farmland by Trust Funds

Ken Rosaasen raised the issue of Saskatchewan farmland being purchased by Trust Funds and whether or not this creates an uneven playing field for farmers.  Farmers purchase assets with after tax dollars while Trust Funds use pension funds which are before tax dollars.  Does this create a disadvantage for farmers in competing for land purchases with Trust Funds?  It was agreed that APAS should further examine this issue in the future.

Innovation – who benefits?

Farmers and the agricultural industry have been innovators.  Yet, this is sometimes not recognized by stakeholders.  Ken Rosaasen reported that Dr. Richard Gray is currently researching this area.  It was agreed that Dr. Gray should be invited to a future Mid Term or Annual Meeting to do a presentation on his research.

Producer Payment Security Mechanisms

As the report on this matter will be an agenda item at the Mid Term Meeting on June 25, discussion was deferred.

Railway Costing

The status of the level of service and railway costing reviews were discussed.  APAS supports immediate launch of the costing review.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Committee will be 10:00 am on Friday, August 14, 2009 at a location to be determined.          

Committee Meeting Minutes

March 19, 2009

Present:  Stan Novogrodski, Ken Rosaasen, Garry Moroz, Dorothy Weetman, and Nial Kuyek

Committee Restructuring/Committee Issue Areas

General Manager Nial Kuyek commented on the rationale for the restructuring of the Committees and the issue areas that had been identified for the Economic, Trade, and Strategic Growth Committee.

Dorothy Weetman was elected Chair of the Economic, Trade, and Strategic Growth Committee for 2009.

Resolutions

The Committee discussed resolutions referred to the Committee by the Board of Directors for review and recommendation.

Resolution 8

Whereas the Federal Government has demonstrated over the past 10 years that they want to base farm support on margin based programs with some ad hoc money, and those programs have grown less supportive for the agriculture sector, both grains and oilseeds, therefore

Be it resolved that we lobby to change the calculation of the reference margins bringing drop in value of productive assets into the calculation for payouts.

The Committee discussed this resolution in conjunction with the resolution of the Board of Directors of March 7, 2009:

That the APAS Economic, Trade, and Strategic Growth Committee look into a study of Agriculture Stability and Agriculture Recovery and that KAP and WRAP be contacted to see if they are interested in cost projections and cost sharing with potential consulting companies.

The Committee agreed that a study needs to be conducted and recommended that a joint project with KAP and WRAP be pursued.  The Committee noted the importance of engaging a credible consultant.  The Committee also discussed alternatives to the farm organizations conducting the study including seeking an examination by the Auditor General or challenging Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to undertake such a review.

Resolution 10

Whereas provincial borders are very restrictive in Western Canada;

Be it resolved that APAS, together with western allies, lobby to open borders inter- provincially in Canada.

The Committees view was that we need national policy for all agricultural commodities.  If APAS is to pursue this matter, the existing barriers must be identified and specific recommendations for change must be developed for advocacy.

Resolution 12

Whereas the risk of the primary producer has increased dramatically due to the volatility of commodity prices and input costs;

Be it resolved that APAS turn some of its focus on lobbying towards the industry partners that we have along the food chain (input suppliers and output handlers) and the need to share risk and prosper together.

The Committee agreed that there is need for input and output suppliers to support farm gate issues.  The Committee felt that there is also a need to communicate and demonstrate the efficiency and contributions of agriculture.  The Committee recommended that this be integrated into future APAS strategies.

WTO/APAS and CFA Positions

The Committee reviewed the CFA position paper on the new WTO wording and agreed with the position taken by APAS and CFA particularly relative to the treatment of state trading enterprises.

Levels of Competition

The Committee discussed growing farmer concerns about decreasing levels of competition in the agricultural industry including grain handling, farm machinery dealers, input suppliers, and livestock sales and processing.  The concern is that near monopoly conditions are developing.

Surface Leases

The General Manager provided an overview of analysis completed by Adam Harnett relative to publication of surface lease rate information.  In Alberta, this service is provided by the Farmers’ Advocate Office of the provincial Agriculture Ministry.  The committee recommended that APAS lobby the Saskatchewan Government to provide the same service either through Saskatchewan Agriculture or Information Services Corporation.

APAS Research Priorities

The Committee recommended the following as research priorities for APAS in 2009:

·        Agriculture Stability and Recovery

·        Intergenerational transfer programs

·        Trade

·        Levels of competition

·        OUI – what is happening in Canada and abroad

Next Meeting

It was agreed that the next meeting should be held after seeding around Farm Progress Show.