PE: Farmers’ group wants government to pay up faster

[NEW LONDON, PE] — Farmers have voted to pressure the province to accelerate processing and payment of claims made by farmers impacted by last year’s milling wheat fiasco.

A resolution to have the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture lobby the agriculture department to move swiftly on the issue received unanimous support of farmers attending the PEIFA’s annual meeting recently.

“There was some discussion that there are programs in place and crop insurance that will deal with this. The reality is if you dumped your wheat in the woods you get a zero on your history for that year and the coming year your premiums go up and your coverage goes down,” said David Mol, president of the P.E.I. Grain and Protein Council. “There is definitely a serious effect.”

Numerous Island milling wheat farmers lost substantial amounts of money due to what Dover Mills, the main wheat buyer for P.E.I., called a misprint when it came to what it deemed were acceptable vomitoxin levels.

While most of the grain was stored and later sold at the proper price, some grain farmers sold their wheat as animal feed for far less money. Others simply dumped their wheat.

The Department of Agriculture said last fall it would review, on a case-by-case basis, the losses and compensate them accordingly. But, to date, no payments have been made to farmers.

Farmers also voted to lobby government to extend repayment options under the Advance Payment Program without penalty for the portion of the milling wheat crop that didn’t make the grade.