In 2014, nearly one million Manitoba acres were too wet to seed and thousands of acres of crop were damaged by too much moisture.

Risk management review task force seeks farmer input

It’s looking for ideas to mitigate the impact of increasing severe weather on producers

Everybody complains about the weather, the old saying goes, but nobody does anything about it. Well, Manitoba’s Agriculture Risk Management Review Task Force can’t fix the weather, but it wants to hear Manitoba farmers’ ideas for mitigating its impact. “We’re hoping there will be some real thinking out of the box by people on the

Manitoba farmer Les Harris

Manitoba farmers dropping out of AgriStability

Changes to the program three years ago made it less effective

Changes three years ago to AgriStability have prompted some Manitoba farmers to abandon the income stabilization scheme because the cost is too high and the potential for payments too low. Federal statistics show the number of farmers enrolled in the program has dropped about nine per cent since 2012. However, if informal surveys by Keystone


James Battershill, KAP general manager

KAP GM is confident hiring a membership co-ordinator will pay off

Membership revenue is important, but so is broad farmer representation, says James Battershill

Membership, and the revenue that comes with it, are the lifeblood of any organization, but for the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) it’s more than just the money. “It’s really what drives our credibility as an organization,” KAP’s general manager James Battershill told delegates attending KAP’s spring General Council meeting April 16. “KAP has always been

Ron Kostyshyn

Task force has one year to finish review

As weather events continue to produce multi-year effects, stakeholders are being invited to help suggest ways to improve insurance programs

Early forecasts may indicate spring flooding is unlikely in Manitoba this year, but for producers, high water is still front and centre as they cope with consecutive wet years and limited risk management tools. In response, a task force has now been struck by the province to examine how climate-related risks like flooding can be

Dan Mazier

Mazier to helm KAP

Keystone Agricultural Producers will continue to press government for better farm polices under its new leadership

Keystone Agricultural Producers are about to face a little bit of Justice as they welcome Dan Mazier to the role of president. The long-time KAP board member and former vice-president farms in the Westman region — close to the tiny community of Justice — and was acclaimed at the organization’s annual general meeting in Winnipeg


railways cars at an inland grain terminal

Railways fined for failing to move enough grain

Farmers and grain companies say the fines are too small relative to the cost of delivery delays

Canada’s two national railways have been fined for not meeting federal targets for grain shipments, but not as much as farmers and grain companies say is warranted. CN Rail said in a statement it will pay its $100,000 for two violations “and move forward,” while CP Rail will contest a $50,000 fine for a single

railway grain cars

CN Rail over, CP under 2013-14 Maximum Revenue Entitlement

The railways moved 38.76 million tonnes of western grain to export ports — the most ever since 2000-01


It cost western Canadian grain farmers, on average, $33.69 a tonne to ship grain by rail during the 2013-14 crop year, down 30 cents a tonne from the crop year before. And, as was the case in 2012-13, one railway was slightly over and the other slightly under the statutory Maximum Revenue Entitlement (MRE), also

Manitoba farmer

Should farmers pay for protection against grain company defaults?

The Canadian Grain Commission has proposed setting up a security fund paid for by grain companies, 
but Rob Brunel says Ontario’s farmer-funded model has merit

Rob Brunel knows farmers aren’t keen on more checkoffs, but the Ste. Rose du Lac farmer believes that’s the best way to replace the Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC) current security program. “My preference has been to set up something like Ontario has,” the chair of Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) Grains and Oilseeds Committee said in


Scrap the cap and the railways will do a better job moving western grain, says Barry Prentice, an agricultural economist and professor at the University of Manitoba’s Transport Institute.

Scrap the cap and the railways will move more grain

The University of Manitoba’s Barry Prentice says ‘Soviet’-style regulations 
make for a less efficient western grain-handling and transportation system

The railways would do a better job moving western Canadian grain if the revenue cap was scrapped, allowing the free market to work, says Barry Prentice, an agricultural economist and professor at the University of Manitoba’s Transport Institute. “I wonder why on earth do we have a government… holding up the case for capitalism… dealing

Simon Ellis, Manitoba farmer

With no AgriRecovery yet in sight, farmers face a tough winter ahead

KAP is still pushing for AgriRecovery to offset what was for many farmers a terrible growing season

It was a tough year for many Manitoba farmers and it could be an even tougher winter, according to farmers speaking at Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) fall General Council meeting Oct. 30. “There will be farmers who will not make land payments and machinery payments due to the fact they have not got their crop,