Ryan Meili toured the McCord and Rockglen areas, a couple of hours south of Moose Jaw on Wednesday.

Meili says farmers and ranchers are telling him this is worse than the 1988 drought.

“Grasshoppers, gophers, dry land, no water and no feed. It is a real serious situation and people need help today, not three months or six months from now.”

He met with one producer who seeded 2,000 acres of crop and will not be taking the combine out for harvest because crops have not filled and are too low to swath.

“You hear the pain and worry in their voices,” Meili said. “These are the stewards of the land and the people who fuel our economy and put the food on our table.”

He is calling on the federal and provincial governments to develop an assistance program as soon as possible with input from affected producers. He adds there is no long-economic recovery for Saskatchewan without a thriving agriculture sector.