Ottawa—The federal and provincial governments need to fix shortcomings in agriculture programs or risk losing the next generation of producers who could decide farming isn't financially sustainable, say national farm leaders.Bob Lowe, President of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, said broken financial support programs and a shortage of livestock processing capacity are among a number of disheartening challenges for current and prospective farmers.“There has to be confidence that agriculture has a future,” Lowe said during a mid-December on-line news conference. Governments “need to help us get our money out of the market.”Rick Bergmann, Chair of the Canadian Pork Council, called for governments to get on with fixing the broken Agri-Stability program “to give producers the confidence to invest and bring the next generation onboard.”“Producers need help to get through the tough times,” he said. “We need a backstop to help us with factors that are out of our control.”. At the same time, fixing trade problems to open more foreign markets will enable farmers to thrive and the country will prosper.Mary Robinson, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said, “We're not asking for governments to put money on the table but to ensure AgriStability will be there to protect farmers. It's an excellent investment and if we don't improve confidence among producers, what will happen?”Farmers had a tough time operating through the pandemic, she said. “We were recognized for our economic importance.” Agriculture needs support to grow because “even before Covid, farmers were hit by events beyond their control.”Andre Harpe, Chair of Grain Growers of Canada, said the pandemic has shown what farmers can do for Canada. “We're ready to help.” But the shortcomings in AgriStability, trade disputes and railway blockades and strikes “have put at risk our ability to feed our country.”Rebecca Lee, Executive Director of the Canadian Horticultural Council, said that while her sector worked with the government through the pandemic to bring in temporary foreign workers for planting and harvesting fruit and vegetable crops, uncertainty remains. “The protections are not adequate.”The farm leaders said the pandemic has raised agriculture's profile with Canadians. “As agriculture producers, we have to keep that ball rolling,” Bergmann said. “We've got to keep bragging about Canadian food.”Harpe said agriculture is being recognized for its progress in protecting the environment. “Now we have to get the Pest Management Regulatory Agency to become more responsive to what's going on.”Another important move is establishing good relations with the incoming Biden administration in Washington so it understands imports from Canada aren't causing the US any economic harm, Lee said.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.