I would like to know...

[kato]

Yes, it's another Agristability rant...

I guess what happened here in Manitoba is that, apparently, according to the customer service people who are sounding pretty demoralized themselves by now, a bunch of work was reassigned to Saskatchewan. So a bunch of people were laid off. Oops! Laid off too many. Now more had to be re-hired, but of course they weren't the knowledgable former ones, they were all brand new, untrained ones who don't have a clue. So how to fix this potential productivity problem?

Of course, let's upgrade all the programming, but in such a way that no reference margins are carrried forward and everything has to be done manually by said untrained employees. Oh yea, I almost forgot, make sure some of these overworked and behind in schedule employees spend some good quality time digging through old returns looking for ways to readjust them.

It's enough to make you scream in frustration.

Is it just Manitoba where Agristability is so badly run? Last year, our application was processed and complete six weeks after they received it.

This year, we're pushing SEVEN MONTHS, and nothing... nada ... zip. It's almost 2011, and we haven't finished 2009 up yet. What the heck is going on here? If it's a zero, then at least let a person know, so they can make some plans.

If anyone else managed a business like this they'd be out on the street in no time flat. Is it any better in the other provinces?

[grassfarmer]

Had ours sent away in April this year - finally got the letter through early last week telling me what I knew months ago. Zero payment, nothing like getting a payment in fact. On an all cattle operation if last year doesn't trigger a payment there's not much hope for the program. Record low cattle prices - record high feed prices = no payment. Complete waste of time and effort.

[kato]

I'm thinking the same thing, but it would still be nice to know one way the other.

[riders2010]

So how do you guys feel about the fact that someone could grow 4 years of great lentil or canola crop and then bump their head and seed wheat or loose a crop or not seed and get a huge payout because of the bumper lentil or canola crops while cattlemen and grain farmers in areas of recent disaster get nothing at all?

Something needs to be done about this, it's not just okey to say I'm happy knowing it's a 0, door to door in our area samething don't even need to send it in to find out. If disaster areas or cattlemen don't get anything then shut down the slush fund for those that shouldn't need it at all.