Sask. ranchers disappointed after ag ministers skip Ag in Motion booth

A moment of excitement was gone in a flash.

In April, the owners of Norheim Ranching were told they had been selected for a visit by the provincial and federal agriculture ministers during the Ag in Motion farm expo near Langham.

Months of preparation began for Chelsea and Lee Norheim about what they would talk about during the 30-minute conversation.

But when it was time to talk with the ministers during the show, they never got the chance, according to Chelsea.

“We expected them to be late — because you know how things go at trade shows — and we’re waiting and we’re waiting and there’s nothing and then we did see them getting close to us … and then all of a sudden they’re gone,” she said, noting nothing was communicated to them about the ministers not stopping at their booth.

“We would’ve appreciated just even a heads up: ‘Hey, we’re not going to be able to stop by, but we would like to chat with you later or see you at a different show,’ or something like that,” added Norheim, explaining she knows politicians can run on tight schedules and knows things can change.

Norheim says it was frustrating because they like to be prepared and spent a lot of time discussing what they would talk about so they didn’t waste the ministers’ time.

She says they wanted to have a real conversation about what’s going on in western agriculture, especially beef production as there is a lot of stress on it.

“We feel like we get vilified for things that shouldn’t happen due to a lot of the environmental discussions that are going on and I think that a lot of the things we sell and the people we deal with was going provide a really good opportunity to maybe put some more light on some of the things they need to consider,” Norheim said.

She pointed out cattle aren’t going to ruin the environment the way they handle and feed them and that plays a part in any environmental policies they’re trying to form.

She explained she didn’t want to discuss politics, but if the ministers miss these conversations, the policy they work on doesn’t reflect what’s actually happening on the ground.

Norheim expressed that even though it was disappointing, she wanted to let the ministers know that if they ever had questions, anyone in the industry would be happy to answer them.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s office says her original flight into Saskatoon was cancelled. That got her into the city late, which in turn altered her schedule.

The office added Bibeau was following the lead of event organizers and the provincial government and apologized to anyone that had been missed.

According to an agenda sent from the office of Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit late Thursday, the Norheims weren’t on the final list of booths to be visited.

Norheim talked with Ag in Motion organizers and found out things changed at the last moment, but says the courtesy of letting them know would have been appreciated. She said she would’ve been more than happy to welcome the ministers to the ranch at a different time.