Dear Editor:

On July 9, the Progressive Conservative caucus asked the Doer government to convene Manitoba's standing committee on Agriculture and Food as soon as possible to examine the serious challenges facing Manitoba's farm families. This request has been met with stony silence.

Not since the spring of 2001 has the standing committee met to specifically address the factors negatively affecting our agriculture sector; such a meeting is long overdue. A vibrant agricultural sector is vital not only to farm families and to communities, but also to our provincial economy.

A growing numbers of issues — ignored by the NDP — are evidence of how out of touch this government is when it comes to addressing the economic challenges facing rural Manitoba. Issues that should be examined by the committee include, but are not limited to:

The fiscal challenges being faced by Manitoba's pork producers due to factors such as the H1N1 outbreak, Country of Origin Labelling (COOL), Bill 17, which limits the expansion of hog operations, high input prices and low commodity prices, among others;

The ongoing impact of the BSE crisis and factors such as COOL on the cattle industry;

The impact of weather-related challenges such as flooding, excess moisture conditions or drought on livestock and crop producers in different regions of the province; and

Challenges related to business risk management programs not being able to adequately respond to the needs of producers.

Tackling the economic challenges facing the agriculture sector requires a concerted effort from policy makers at the provincial, national and international levels. We believe information gleaned by the Standing Committee could be shared with the appropriate federal ministers to help develop strategies to move the industry forward.

It's time for the Doer government to set the committee dates and to get the dialogue started. The stakeholders remain deeply committed to tackling the current challenges and to ensuring the long-term health of Manitoba's diverse agriculture sector. We question whether the Doer government shares this same level of commitment.

Hugh McFadyen

Leader of the Official Opposition

Ralph Eichler

Progressive Conservative Agriculture Critic