APAS releases COVID-19 survey results

Apr 08, 2020

More than 250 farmers participated in the online poll

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Saskatchewan farmers have provided a snapshot into how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting their operations.

A total of 262 producers participated in Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan’s (APAS) first COVID-19 survey between March 25 and April 5.

The organization will be posting online surveys on a weekly basis with different questions as the pandemic continues. APAS plans to share the results with governments to help them develop industry responses.

Here are some of the highlights from the first survey.

Seventy-two per cent of survey respondents believe the pandemic will lead to lower revenues and reduced commodity prices while another 71 per cent think the COVID-19 situation will lead to reduced cash flow.

Almost half of the polled farmers think COVID-19 will hinder their abilities to pay bills.

“Farmers need cash to be able to get their crop in the ground this spring, and after the brutal last couple of years we’ve dealt with, reduced cash flow would really break people,” Todd Lewis, president of APAS, said in an April 6 statement. “So far, the government’s COVID-19 support to farmers has been to increase our access to loans, but going into even more debt isn’t the answer.”

Other findings include:

41 per cent of farmers have seen the cost of inputs increase or anticipate the costs to go up
45 per cent have reported delays in the delivery and sale of farm production
18 per cent reported issues finding farm labour

Sask. producers are also reporting higher levels of stress.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest level, farmers averaged 6.23 out of 10. Another 5 per cent did report “unbearable levels” of stress.

Mental health resources have been receiving more calls from farmers during these difficult times.

“We’re certainly busier than usual…,” Jan Thorson, executive director of Mobile Crisis Services, which manages the province’s Farm Stress Line, told Discover Estevan. “I think (COVID-19 has) placed a little extra stress on the population in general since none of us know how long we’ll be living under these restrictions.”

APAS’s next survey has been posted and will be available until April 12.

Farms.com has reached out to APAS and other farm groups for comment.

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.