OTTAWA — Grassroots farmers have questions about the new federal budget announced May 2 (See page 35 for details).

North Gower crop farmer Dwight Foster, one of the leaders involved in the recent tractor rallies and protests, is disappointed.

Foster said that federal Ag Minister Chuck Strahl acknowledged that a $4-billion hole needed to be filled but he didn’t fill it.

The federal government announced that the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program (CAIS) will be replaced. Also, $1.5 billion will be provided this year for farm relief, including a one-time investment of $1 billion.

The budget document spells out how that money will be dispersed: "The government will provide one-time funding to shift the inventory valuation method under CAIS to make the program more responsive, and put in place deeper loss coverage."

"They’re tweaking CAIS to fill the ruts in the road," Foster said. "They hung us out."

He added: "The guy with the least profit will get the least money."

He also said the money will be spread too thinly, from flood relief to P.E.I. goat farmers, and urged farm leaders to carry the fight from here.

Ontario Federation of Agriculture vice-president Geri Kamenz said that as of May 2 there were few details available about the new funding. But the urgency now is to get that money to farmers quickly, using the mechanisms we have, even though they are flawed. Allow for appeals, he said.

The $1.5 billion "is not what the industry asked for but it’s a far cry from where we were," Kamenz said.