This year’s federal budget has turned into a "big math problem" for bureaucrats as they are still working on how much individual farmers will get, says a director of the Ontario Soybean Growers.

"I can’t tell you what farmers are going to get because we have no idea," said Morrisburg-based Arden Schneckenburger. "That’s why farmers are so frustrated. They can’t go to the bank with it. We don’t have a clue (about the numbers). A program like this is not bankable."

Little wonder, some farmers have been complaining that the new Conservative government has turned their back on them. But Schneckenburger said the government is committed to getting the money out. "It’s just more complicated than they realized."

The May 2 budget announced $1.5 billion in new money for agriculture, including $900 million that would flow through the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program to cover a three-year period. ($450 million will cover 2003 and 2004 while $450 million will cover 2005)

The federal government also changed how the $900 million money will flow through CAIS. Ottawa factored in the difference in the commodity price at the start of the year with the price at the end of the year. This works well for many commodities with fluctuating markets but falls short in addressing the needs of grain farmers who have experienced gradual price declines over many years. Another reason for breaking up the $900 million into two payments is that "the government doesn’t really know how much this is going to cost," Schneckenburger said. "Also, by breaking it up, a first payment can be made in September or October this year."

Meantime, Ontario Minister of Agriculture Leona Dombrowski is waiting to see how much the federal government spends before the province makes a commitment, he said. "She wants to dance. She doesn’t want to lead."