Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) President Bill Campbell says farmers need the federal government to be prepared to establish an ad-hoc program to deal with the canola crisis.

“This situation has created uncertainty and we do not know the impact and will not know the impact until long after the canola acres are in and the new crop is off," said Campbell. "We would ask AAFC to provide regular market updates so that we can continue to monitor the situation."

In a news release, KAP says it recognizes that the Advance Payments Program could be an important tool for some, if the limit and the interest-free portion were increased, and the deadline extended.

However the group says it will not help longer-term market disruptions.

“If prices don’t improve from the low they are at now due to lack of demand, many farmers will have difficulties paying their advances back,” said Campbell.

Another option could be the federal-provincial AgriStability program, however, Campbell notes any assistance would be a long time coming.