The Agricultural Producer's Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) held a general meeting recently as a way to connect with members and the industry on a number of topics.
APAS President Bill Prybylski says the event addressed several important issues, beginning with the province's rail lines.
"One of the topics brought up was the railroad issues. That's something that we've been dealing with for many, many years. The gist of the presentation was that rail freight rates, it's been suggested, are some of the lowest in the world. Perhaps they are, but there's reasons for that. It's like comparing apples and oranges."
Prybylsky compared Canada's figures to other regions like Europe, where shorter hauls are the norm. He expressed that the first and last miles of the journey are the most expensive. "Once it's on the train, it doesn't cost a whole lot to travel a further distance. That's what kind of skews those numbers."
Keeping with foreign issues, Prybylski says they also chatted about foreign ownership in Saskatchewan, coinciding with a recent report from the provincial auditor.
"I guess the timing of that was really good. It wasn't intentional, but it worked out to be very well. It was the same day that the auditor released her report on foreign ownership of farmland and the farmland ownership board. So that was very timely and relevant information."
The meeting also discussed some new items from other farm groups operating in the country. The general meeting featured a presentation from the Canadian Grain Commission about their long-term goals. Scott Ross, the chief executive officer of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, presented what their organization will be working towards and their collaborative work with APAS.
APAS will continue to work on key issues affecting producers in the new year, particularly the ones concerning rail, Prybylski noted. The group is hoping to see the rail carbon surcharge eliminated. "We know that as producers, we're paying a significant amount of carbon tax on behalf of the railroads that's worked into their freight rate. We don't feel that that's fair for producers to be paying the carbon tax on behalf of the railroad."
Prybylski says they'll also look to make grain fees and contracts fair for the producers in the coming year.
The meeting featured appearances from the province's Minister of Crown Investments Hon. Jeremy Harrison and the official opposition leader Carla Beck of the Saskatchewan NDP.