The provincial budget, tabled April 2, included a reworked rebate, pitched by the provincial government as an affordability measure for lower income Manitobans. The budget erased the rebate for commercial properties “in anticipation of the introduction of a new education funding model,” tinkered with the credit’s thresholds in residential categories and introduced a $1,500 Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit, but the school tax rebate for farm properties was not affected. It remains at 50 per cent.

Why it matters: The April 2 budget is the first tabled since the NDP dethroned the Progressive Conservatives in last fall’s election.

Keystone Agricultural Producers welcomed that news. “We encourage the province to continue working toward the complete removal of the tax on farm properties and that this is taken into account when developing the new provincial education funding model,” KAP general manager Brenna Mahoney said.

Farmers had previously been promised a phase-out of educational property tax on their properties under the previous government.

Offices to return

The province also aims to reopen two rural Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) centres this year, something promised during the NDP’s electoral campaign last year.

A total 13 offices were closed in 2021, leaving 10 operational. The government of the day said the move was an effort to modernize and consolidate agricultural services in the province.

The 2024 budget allocated $200,000 to reopen the first two service centres. Premier Wab Kinew linked the line item to attempts to reverse some of the centralization of government services that has occurred in recent years. “We’re very excited about this,” he said. “We think that decentralizing these services ensures not only that there is a MASC service center, but also the economic activity that comes along with that, the rent that’s being paid and the employment position(s) created.”

Sites for the two new centres have yet to be determined, but Kinew said the plan was to establish them within the calendar year.

“We’re going to set to work under the leadership (of) Minister Kostyshyn to figure out where the best fit is for those locations,” he said. “We’ve heard some lobbying and helpful suggestions so far and we expect that there’ll be a few more helpful suggestions before we land on the final selection.”

Livestock initiatives

Several other budget items are aimed at livestock producers.

The province announced increased funding to create, retain and attract veterinary medical professionals to rural areas. Other promises include freezing rent rates for Agricultural Crown lands and the launch of a livestock predation prevention strategy.

The Crown land rate freeze cements cuts promised late last year. The province had pledged that 2024 rents would sit 55 per cent below the amount calculated under Crown land regulations. The previous government had halved rates for 2023, citing production challenges in recent years.

A three-year pilot program gauging prevention methods against predation also recently wrapped up.

The Manitoba Beef Producers highlighted the livestock-specific budget items.

Lack of large animal veterinarians, meanwhile, has been a perennial concern in Western Canada. Organizations such as MBP and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities have flagged critical vet shortages in rural regions and have lobbied for various measures to fill the gap.

“MBP has done considerable advocacy work on matters like these given their importance to our members, so seeing them singled out in the budget is important,” MBP president Matthew Atkinson said in a news release.

The budget sets aside $135,000 to address the shortage of veterinarians in rural Manitoba. The funding includes tuition rebates for students trained at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), and funding for five additional seats within the VetSTEP summer work program for WCVM students, with a focus on commercial animals.

“KAP is excited to see $135,000 announced in this budget that will go toward the implementation of the veterinary strategy, which we developed in partnership with the team at Manitoba Agriculture,” said Mahoney.

MBP general manager Carson Callum noted a number of positive elements in this year’s budget. But while he welcomes the incoming predation strategy, “We’d like more clarity on what that fully entails,” he said.

The recently completed project, dubbed the Livestock Predation Prevention Pilot, set a foundation of knowledge on the topic. “We look forward to seeing what other steps can be taken to reduce interactions and reduce losses on farms,” he said.

Another line item in the 2024 budget notes that the province will be providing $5.2 million for “Wildlife Damage Compensation to compensate producers for losses sustained through crop damage and livestock predation.”

The province also announced increased funding for business risk management programs and boosted eligible loan amounts for the young farmer rebate from $200,000 to $300,000 and the lifetime maximum rebate from $20,000 to $30,000. The young farmer rebate is available through MASC and targets farmers under the age of 40 to provide assistance during the start-up phase of their business.

“These components of Budget 2024 are welcomed by Manitoba producers across the province,” KAP president Jill Verwey said. “In particular, the lending fee credit through MASC for farmers under 40 will provide significant benefits to the next generation of farmers.”

Municipal concerns

Items of more general rural interest included restoring the rural doctor recruitment fund and increasing policing grants available to municipalities.

The province’s budget document was heavy on health care.

“The announcements with health care will benefit all Manitobans,” said Association of Manitoba Municipalities president Kam Blight. “And there’s a specific rural touch to some of it.”

Blight called the restored recruitment money “excellent news” and also noted a commitment to improving rural medical transportation.

“The $22 million to help with medical transportation in rural areas is absolutely critical,” he said.

The province also provided a two per cent escalator to municipal funding, but Blight said AMM would have liked to see more. Funding and inflationary pressures were a common theme within resolutions presented at the AMM’s last annual meeting last fall.

“We’re pleased to see that our operating and strategic infrastructure funding baskets are going up by two per cent,” he said. “But it does fall short of the rate of inflation. There’s still some work to be done there to make sure it’s long term and predictable.”

Blight said the province has told him they are committed to work with the AMM to achieve that.

“There’s a lot of small victories in there that we’re very pleased to see, and we’re very appreciative of, but there wasn’t a lot of surprises,” he said.

The budget, however, falls short in addressing rural crime, Blight said.

“Greater steps to be taken towards addressing that issue, especially when one of the campaign promises this government has been saying is that they’re going to be tough on crime. We’re not seeing that in this budget.”

Blight argued that the increase to policing grants is just re-establishing funding that had been in place previously.

“There’s really new money’s being put towards public safety and that’s where the concern lies for us,” he said. “We’re going to continue to have these conversations and really push this issue with the province of Manitoba.”

Blight also felt that water and wastewater infrastructure funding was not adequately addressed.

The provincial budget did include funding for water and wastewater services, including a $4-million increase for the Manitoba Water Services Board to address “Manitoba’s water and wastewater infrastructure deficit,” but Blight said that money is only enough to maintain the current level of service.

“There needs to be a greater increase,” he said. “It’s hurting residential development and is deterring and turning away economic growth.”

Blight said he is hopeful that shortfall will soon be corrected by the province.

“We will continue to work with the province on this issue and continue to help them better understand the challenges we’re facing,” he said.

These kind of infrastructure discussions will also have to involve the federal government, he noted, “but we’re ready to get to work on this again.”

The post Ag groups note silver linings in 2024 provincial budget appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The February 23 announcement saw provincial and federal governments commit $30 million each to the Arctic Gateway Group. The limited partnership owns and operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway, which connects The Pas to Churchill. The funds are intended upgrade the port and to complete repairs to the railway, which has not been in operation since 2021.

“This means jobs will be maintained. This means mining and forestry opportunities will open up, including, of course, critical minerals, which are essential to our country’s north,” said Canada’s Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal. “Manitobans, through the Bay Line communities, will have the opportunity to position themselves as a true gateway to the Arctic and a true gateway to the world.”

The funding announcement builds on the Government of Canada’s and Manitoba’s previous commitments to restore rail service to Churchill and surrounding communities, which began in 2018 funding to establish the Arctic Gateway Group.

The Port of Churchill was once bustling during the three months of the year that it was open. That was almost entirely because of Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) shipments, which accounted for 90 per cent of the traffic that went through the port. But with the demise of the CWB’s single desk selling authority in 2012, volumes began to plummet until operations ceased in 2015. Amid much fanfare, in 2019, grain shipments through the port restarted, only to be put on hiatus again in 2021.

Churchill Mayor Michael Spence said grain traffic will return, but the plan is to be less reliant on a single commodity.

“We are a port community, and one of the commodities that we all know has been historically shipped through the port of Churchill is grain, but we will diversify; we will look at other products as well,” said Spence.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew noted that there are agricultural areas where it makes a lot of sense to choose Churchill as a port destination.

“We know there’s a lot of interest for grain producers in the Pas area, there is a real desire to get goods to market here,” he said. But while shipping agricultural products will remain part of the role the Port of Churchill plays, Kinew, like Spence sees a future less dependent on grain.

“The Port of Churchill makes Manitoba a maritime province, and both the Port and the rail line offer so much potential when it comes to international trade, energy exports and building out the supply chains that create good jobs in Northern Manitoba,” said Kinew.

The post $60 million for Port of Churchill infrastructure appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Kinew argues that Manitoba deserves a better deal on the federal government’s carbon pricing scheme, based on how much Manitobans have invested in hydroelectric power. That investment, in turn, has cut Manitoba’s greenhouse gas emissions, Kinew says.

“When it comes to the carbon price, Manitoba has a very strong case that, that could be revisited in our province because of the investments we’ve made in the Manitoba Hydro grid over the years, because of the steps that have been taken,” Kinew told reporters Jan. 16.

Pallister made the same case a little more than six years ago, when he announced his party’s vision for climate policy: the Manitoba Climate and Green Plan — A Made-in-Manitoba Solution.

Without Manitoba Hydro’s investments, paid by Manitobans, the province’s emissions would be 42 megatonnes a year, double 2017’s levels, Pallister said that year, after the detailed and generally well-received plan was unveiled.

“Because Manitoba is already ‘clean’ with its hydroelectric power grid, it will require higher carbon prices to achieve equivalent emissions reductions compared to other provinces,” the PC’s plan stated. “That would mean higher and higher carbon prices for fewer and fewer relative emissions reductions. That makes no sense.”

Pallister’s plan to reduce emissions by 2.6 million tonnes by 2022 had merit. It included a price on carbon, but capped it well below what Ottawa deemed acceptable. It also branched into policies that would cut emissions by preserving wetlands and tackling big industry.

“I am concerned that it has taken a long time for governments around the world to get at this problem,” Pallister said. “I want us to have a plan that works over time.”

At the time, Pallister used up a lot of political capital defying party members and some voters who opposed any price on carbon, even though most economists argue it’s the most economic, efficient and market-driven approach. Some of the disaffected even went so far as to set up a new political party.

Pallister’s plan, however, had lots of backers, from the Keystone Agricultural Producers to Ducks Unlimited. Ian Mauro, former executive director of the University of Winnipeg’s Prairie Climate Centre, praised it.

“I think it’s really exciting the province of Manitoba is getting on board with serious climate action,” he said in an interview on Oct. 27, 2017. “I think the opportunity to have a Conservative-led government taking climate change seriously and signalling that they want to have action is very helpful.

“We could have (climate change) denial, but that is not what happened today. There was an acknowledgment that climate change is real. There was an acknowledgment that we need to do something about it … and all of that is very beneficial and very good.”

Indeed, Pallister often pointed to climate change as a fact.

“We are already feeling its impacts from flooding to extreme weather to melting ice roads,” he said when his plan was released. “Unabated, these impacts will grow. This is the consensus view of scientists around the globe. Taking action now is cheaper and better than waiting.”

Pallister also said most farmers agree, although some current social media posts make one wonder.

Alas, historically, the federal government gives no credit for past good deeds, whether that’s farmers adopting zero-till or hydro building more dams. It argues that strategy does nothing to reduce emissions further.

So there is no Manitoba-made price on carbon, and Ottawa’s will see an increase April 1. Meanwhile, on Jan. 1, Kinew’s new NDP government made good on its promise to cut the province’s 14-cent-a-litre tax on gasoline and diesel fuel, but only for six months.

And unlike Ottawa’s carbon price, most Manitobans will not get a rebate when the gas tax is restored in July.

“We’re going to continue to do the things that we can on our side provincially to help the average person, to help producers, and we will be working at other levels as well,” Kinew told reporters.

Given the similarities in stance, Kinew might want to dust off Pallister’s opus and revise a made-in-Manitoba approach.

The post Opinion: Kinew finds inner Pallister appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The province has paused lease allocations while it takes another look at the agricultural Crown land program, he announced Jan. 29.

“We’ve paused it for a number of reasons. Actually, we feel that we need to maybe do some consultation and basically do a review of the Crown land program.”

Why it matters: Ranchers spent years criticizing the former government’s Crown land regulation overhaul, and changes were part of the NDP’s election campaign last fall.

The last five years of system changes will be going under the microscope, Kostyshyn said. The province will also help existing leaseholders adjust to regulation changes that came into effect at the start of 2024.

Ultimately, the department hopes to “determine the future of program priorities.”

“It’s always healthy to review policies that have come into play,” he said. “Has it accommodated the wishes of the organization? The cattle industry? The Manitoba Beef Producers?”

The controversy

If that question was posed to ranchers, the answer would likely be no.

Changes to the Crown land system, starting in 2018, sparked considerable outrage in the Parkland and Interlake – areas where leased land often accounts for large chunks of farm land bases.

The Crown land modernization, ushered in by the then-governing Progressive Conservatives, first did away with the old points system, which weighted a producer’s lease application based on factors like age or proximity to the parcel. An auction system was put in its place.

That was fine with much of the beef sector, which had complained that the points system was difficult to understand, and it wasn’t always clear why a parcel went to a certain applicant. At the same time, some ranchers raised concern that auctions would disadvantage young farmers, since they had little hope of outbidding an older, larger farm.

Things came to a head the following year. Leaseholders had been in limbo as the province worked on new regulations to go with the new allocation system. Within days of those rules announced in fall 2019, producer anger was in full flame.

The new regulations limited leases from 50 years to 15, which ranchers said removed business continuity and made it difficult to make long-term business plans.

The province later added a first right of renewal for existing leaseholders because of the backlash.

Other issues included a new market-based rental formula that increased costs, less recourse for land improvement valuation and the elimination of unit transfers that allowed producers to transfer leased land rights along with the sale of private land.

The unit transfer became a particular sticking point. Ranchers said it was key to retirement plans and that, if the majority of a ranch’s land base was tied up in Crown lands, farms were unsellable without it.

At the height of the conflict, the Manitoba Crown Land Leaseholders Association began preparations for a legal challenge.

In 2023, after then-ag minister Derek Johnson reopened the file, the province announced new rules. These are the rules referenced by Kostyshyn, which came into play at the start of this year.

Those changes allowed a leaseholder to transfer the remainder of their lease and allowed legacy leaseholders to nominate the next leaseholder, “subject to the Treaty Land Entitlement and consultation assessment.”

Outgoing leaseholders could be compensated for land improvements based on an appraisal, and producers with a forage management plan could extend their term for five years.

The PC’s had also announced graduated rent relief (50 per cent below the formula in 2023, with the reduction shrinking to 33 per cent in 2024 and 15 per cent in 2025), due to several years of poor forage harvests. The NDP extended that relief to a 55 per cent reduction for 2024.

Crown lands changes featured in the NDPs platform during the 2023 election, and Kostyshyn’s mandate letter later, called for him to reinstate unit transfers.

Nuts and bolts

Kostyshyn has previously said the government will start “from ground zero” on the file. That will start with in-house discussions on Crown land changes and their impacts, after which Kostyshyn said producers can expect consultations.

“We want to do it right,” he said. “We want to do it properly, and that’s why we’re going to pledge to have the blueprint redesigned and hopefully meet with producers or meet with organizations, but we have to do it in-house first and foremost.”

The pause will not impact shorter-term one-year agreements, Kostyshyn said. He added that the door is open to make vacant Crown land available for grazing in 2024, as has been previously done in poor hay years.

That’s good news for Brent Benson, president of the Manitoba Crown Land Leaseholders Association and a producer near Winnipegosis. Current moisture conditions indicate a coming dry year and Benson noted sparse snowpack and concern over dugout recharge.

Farmer reaction

He said the auction pause is prudent if the system is about to go under review.

“It’s probably a good idea to hold off allocating another (round) this year under the old rules if they’re going to change the rules anyway in a couple of months.”

He added that the association is optimistic about the province’s trajectory. There has been cumulative damage from the last five to six years of prolonged uncertainty, he said. Trust in the system, and therefore ability to plan within the system, has been rocked.

Few farms have been taken over since the modernization rules came down, Benson noted.

“It’s going to cause a pretty bad name for the province here in terms of attracting new producers. We’re just not getting the kids coming up to take over a generational farm.”

Lease renewability tops his group’s wish list going into the review, Benson also said, calling it “huge” for attracting and keeping families in the region.

Timeline

Kostyshyn did not provide a timeline for the review. Benson hopes to see changed rules by the end of the year because that would see a new system in place for 2025 allocations.

Ranchers have been living with uncertainty for so long, “they’re almost getting numb to it,” he said. “But if we could find some hope that by the end of summer here, they could have rules in place and people could know for Jan. 1 that this will be the way moving forward that things will be happening, it would (bring) a lot of relief.”

It would also allow people to move ahead with retirement.

The post Crown land auctions cancelled appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Growers that previously did not meet minimum acreage requirements under the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) will be able to bundle their crops to make up that gap, Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced at Manitoba Ag Days Jan. 16.

Why it matters: Better business risk management means a more robust safety net for Manitoba’s smaller vegetable farms.

MASC’s Vegetable Acreage Loss program typically requires farms to grow at least half an acre of a particular crop to qualify for coverage.

A new pilot program dubbed the Small Farm Acreage Loss program will change that, Kostyshyn said.

Under MASC’s new pilot, producers will be able to base their eligibility on the combined footprint of their eligible vegetable crops .

“We encourage the demand for locally grown food and, in order for them to be conscientious in a business perspective, (producers previously) had to grow ‘x’ amount of acres,” Kostyshyn said following his address.

With the ability to bundle crops, producers will now be eligible for insurance on the land base they already have, he noted.

“I think it’s a recognition of how many relatively small farms there are in Manitoba, to the economic benefit that they have,” said David Van Deynze, MASC chief product officer.

He also noted the pilot’s expanded crop eligibility list. Several crops not eligible for standard Vegetable Acreage Loss insurance will be covered if bundled under the pilot.

The existing program covers broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, parsnips, rutabagas, sweet corn, onions, leeks, peppers, pumpkins and winter squash. The pilot adds beets, garlic, lettuce and potatoes to the list.

However, those additional crops are not eligible for hail insurance, according to an MASC factsheet on the program.

Landlords cannot take advantage of the program.

Further, MASC materials say all vegetables must be adequately irrigated, and potatoes aren’t eligible if they are “selected under the AgriInsurance Contract for production insurance.”

“It’s still a pilot at this point because we’re learning as we go as well,” Van Deynze said. “We call things a pilot when there’s some uncertainty around how the program’s going to work and that sort of thing. We feel like it gives us more flexibility to examine things and potentially make changes if we need to as time goes on.”

Pilot nuts and bolts

Farmers can expect a 15 per cent salvage threshold under the pilot.

Under the program, producers can expect 25 per cent coverage for early-season losses (those before the end of the extended seeding deadline). If the farm covers more than five acres, that damage must be in “contiguous blocks of one half-acre or more,” while smaller farms must have at least a tenth of an acre affected for the program to kick in.

Standard loss claims later in the season must only cross that one-tenth-of-an-acre threshold, and the deductible is set at 10 per cent “of the total insured acreage of the affected small farm eligible vegetable crops.”

Cost of production will underpin coverage values for each crop under the pilot, as they do under the existing Vegetable Acreage Loss program, MASC has said, but the basketed coverage value will be based on a weighted average of the coverage values of the crops included in the bundle.

Producers will have to submit seeded acreage reports by June 30 (pushed back to July 2 for this year), but those including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, beets or lettuce in their basket will also have to file updated numbers by July 31, since those crops have later deadlines.

Farmers have until April 2 this year to note their application for the pilot on their Vegetable Acreage Loss paperwork. The standard deadline outside of this year will be the end of March.

Latest veggie insurance change

It is the second year in recent seasons that smaller-scale vegetable producers have seen better crop insurance options. In January 2022, the previous provincial government announced that minimum acreage requirements would lower from three acres to the current half an acre.

That news was welcomed by groups like Direct Farm Manitoba, which had previously advocated for better business risk management programs for its members operating on a smaller scale.

The post Insurance pilot dished up for small veggie farms appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

On Jan. 2, a press release arrived in media inboxes. Crown land changes were now in effect, it said, including that:

• Forage capacity will be determined when the lease is issued and will remain for the entire length of the agreement;
• A five-year extension on a 15-year lease term is available to leaseholders who complete and implement a forage management plan for at least the last five years of the 15-year lease term;
• Unlimited transfers of a 15-year forage lease or renewable permit to any eligible lessee for the remainder of the lease term;
• Legacy leaseholders will be able to nominate the next leaseholder, subject to the Treaty Land Entitlement and consultation assessment; and
• In the last year of the lease, outgoing leaseholders who choose compensation for improvements must obtain an appraisal from an accredited appraiser indicating the value of the eligible improvements. The appraised value will be posted at the time of allocation. If the lease is reallocated within two years of expiry, the successful bidder must pay the outgoing leaseholder the posted amount.

Producers “felt abandoned by the previous government whose changes to Crown land leases hurt their livelihood,” Kostyshyn said in the release.

That’s hard to argue, if you’ve paid attention to the Crown lands saga, at least for ranchers in the Interlake and Parkland. There unquestionably was a wave of outrage and distrust of government following changes ushered in by the Progressive Conservatives in late 2019.

But if the wording of the Jan. 2 press release sounds familiar, it should. It’s pretty much word for word what was promised to producers after the Progressive Conservatives re-opened the file. Under then-ag minister Derek Johnson, those changes got the stamp of approval in late summer 2023, long before Manitobans went to the polls.

The careful wording, crediting the welcomed changes to the “Manitoba government” (blithely skipping over which government), isn’t surprising from a political strategy angle. But given the shaky relationship between forage leaseholders and the province in recent years, Kostyshyn and the NDP would be wise to prioritize unvarnished transparency if they want to rebuild trust.

A little linguistic misdirection might fly over most heads, but those reliant on Crown land know exactly what leaseholders were promised and when they were promised it.

Ranchers who helped Kostyshyn win back his seat did so with the understanding that the Crown land situation would improve under a new government. His mandate letter calls on him to “reinstate unit transfers to the Crown land program while also making leases more affordable to give the next generation of producers a fighting chance.”

The ag minister says the province is starting from “ground zero” on this file, that it will be “reviewing the present Crown land lease legislation that was brought in by the previous government,” and that it is “prepared to sit down with producers and go through the regulations.”

While all that sounds positive, leaseholders also have visceral memories of being burned by the government before, and vague promises without detail are unlikely to appease them.

The Crown land changes themselves were initially framed as a good news story. Then, there was the matter of the disappearing transition measure.

When regulations were first announced in fall 2019, leaseholders were told the unit transfer – which allowed them to transfer lease rights to a new owner upon selling their farm – would be eliminated.

But at least the first version of the regulations allowed one last transfer, with the new leaseholder accountable to the new system’s rules. Producers received that information at numerous meetings.

When the government later amended the regulations, adding a first right of renewal for established leases, that measure quietly disappeared. The province later argued that it had never been in play despite being initially presented.

Producers felt betrayed by the move and the response.

The NDP must work hard to rebuild leaseholder relationships. That begins with honesty over political capital.

The post Editorial: Much ado about nothing appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“We’re still holding out for the promises that were made by the premier and [agriculture] minister during the election,” said president Brent Benson.

Why it matters: Agricultural Crown lands have been an ongoing source of controversy since sweeping changes were ushered in under the previous Progressive Conservative government.

On Jan. 2, the province announced that changes to the system were officially in effect. Under the new rules, the province said, “forage capacity will be determined when the lease is issued and will remain for the entire length of the agreement.”

Changes also introduced a way for producers to add five years to their term, for a total of 20 years, assuming they “complete and implement a forage management plan for at least the last five years of the 15-year lease term.”

The new measures also touch on lease transfers, a sore point for producers following the loss of the unit transfer, a measure that previously allowed them to transfer lease rights along with the sale of their farm. Many argued their ranches were unsellable without unit transfers, given a large proportion of the land base was tied up in leases.

The new rules lay out “unlimited transfers of a 15-year forage lease or renewable permit to any eligible lessee for the remainder of the lease term,” while “legacy leaseholders will be able to nominate the next leaseholder, subject to the Treaty Land Entitlement and consultation assessment.”

Another amendment changes how land improvements made by an outgoing leaseholder are valued, and how that outgoing leaseholder may be compensated for their investment.

“In the last year of the lease, outgoing leaseholders that choose to be compensated for improvements must obtain an appraisal from an accredited appraiser indicating the value of the eligible improvements,” the Jan. 2 release said.

“The appraised value will be posted at the time of allocation, and if the lease is reallocated within two years of expiration, the successful bidder must pay the outgoing leaseholder the posted amount.”

The new regulations echo changes announced by the previous government that were approved in August 2023.

Longstanding issue

Benson is holding out for a full return to the way unit transfers were handled in the past.

In 2019, the province unveiled new regulations for its modernized agricultural Crown lands program, which had been in the works since 2017. Producers were angered by the changes, leading to emergency producer meetings in the Parkland and Interlake in days and weeks following release of the new rules.

Among the major irritants, producers decried the change to rent calculation methods, which promised to greatly increase rates, and the elimination of the unit transfer. Leaseholder association members took the first steps toward a legal challenge.

In 2022, then-ag minister Derek Johnson re-opened the file. The government polled leaseholders and results were presented in 2023. They echoed the criticisms that producers had previously voiced, particularly in the desire for unit transfers.

That summer, the government announced changes that addressed a number of issues raised in the survey.

Looking for more

They were well-received by the industry and the NDP kept Crown land changes on its platform during Manitoba’s fall election. The party campaigned on reversing the 2019 changes and bringing back the unit transfer. This was also an action item listed in Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn’s mandate letter after the NDP’s electoral win.

“Manitoba producers felt abandoned by the previous government, whose changes to Crown land leases hurt their livelihood,” Kostyshyn said in the Jan. 2 media release. “These changes provide more certainty for producers as they make investments in their operations.”

Benson said it all sounded familiar.

“It’s basically the exact same changes that the previous government made last year. We’re pleased that they didn’t cancel the previous changes, because they may allow some people to retire and achieve the value that they deserved for their improvements.”

But Benson said uncertainty remains.

“No young person is going to take over a farm when, in 15 years, they may have to bid against other guys for their farm again.”

Rent also remains a bone of contention.

During the election, the Progressive Conservatives promised to make permanent an existing 50 per cent rent reduction, which had been announced as a temporary measure in light of production challenges and was set to gradually disappear over three years.

The new NDP government said it would increase that temporary reduction to 55 per cent into 2024, but has yet to say whether that reduction will extend past this year.

Recent changes make no mention of the rental calculation.

“They’re still using that formula they came up with in 2019,” Benson said.

He estimated that, without the temporary discount, rents would be four times higher than producers were paying four years ago. Even with the 55 per cent discount, rents are still nearly double what they were in 2019, he said.

“They need to come up with a longer-term plan rather than just ad hoc programs that depend on which way the winds are blowing that year,” said Benson. “It’s pretty nerve-wracking to go year-to-year, never knowing if you’re going to have to come up with another $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000 that you hadn’t budgeted for.”

The leaseholders association has no information about other changes that were promised during the election, Benson said, but he’s hopeful and patient.

“We’re realistic. We’re hoping to have some dialogue with them soon. We knew that there was no possible way they could do it all in two months, but hopefully they’re catching up on all the issues so that, in the next month or two, they can start moving forward on some other things that were talked about.”

The Manitoba Beef Producers welcomed the announcement. In a statement, the producer group said that MBP “thanks the Manitoba government for proceeding with Agricultural Crown Land Leases and Permits Regulation changes that should benefit lease holders.

“MBP is engaging with Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn and Manitoba Agriculture staff to ensure the program is affordable, effective and responsive to clients’ needs.”

The post New Crown lands regulations take effect appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

It’s a bit of a throwaway line, one I might say to any spokesperson after an interview, but his response made me chuckle.

“Sure thing, Don,” he said. “Maybe next time we can talk about something other than agricultural Crown lands.”

The agricultural Crown lands (ACL) file has been a serious issue for producers, particularly in the Parkland and Interlake where more people are reliant on forage leases. The Co-operator has heard producers discuss how changes to the system have affected their livelihoods and succession plans. They’ve expressed frustration as, in their view, agriculture minister after agriculture minister has fumbled the ACL ball and passed it to a successor.

The file has gone through two elections, three premiers, four agriculture ministers, and a flood of criticism from opposition parties and farmers. Producer anger has been tangible.

So, while I chuckled at Callum’s response, I do not make light of the issue.

It’s facets can’t be encapsulated by looking only at 2023. They stretch back to the time when Manitoba was looking to join the New West Partnership Trade Agreement between the Western provinces.

The groundwork to switch the ACL program from a points-based system to allocation by tender was laid in late 2017, and the change came into effect the following year. Then came debate over the regulations and, once those were released in fall 2019, a surge of leaseholder outrage followed.

Despite a deluge of criticism, letters to the editor and threats of legal action, the governing P.C.s, for the most part, didn’t budge on those regulatory changes, except for an early concession to add right of renewal for existing leaseholders who had suddenly had their terms shrink from 50 years to 15.

That changed in late 2022, when the province re-opened the file. Then ag-minister Derek Johnson launched a survey to get ranchers’ opinions on the issue. Results the following spring surprised no one.

“Every point they have in there is exactly what we told them four years ago,” said Brent Benson, president of the Manitoba Crown Land Leaseholders Association.

One of the biggest sticking points of the 2019 regulatory changes (along with a jump in rental rates) was the elimination of unit transfers — the ability to transfer lease rights with the farm when it is sold. Survey results showed 85 per cent of respondents wanted the unit transfer provision back.

The following round of regulatory changes announced in 2023 under Johnson did calm the waters. Among them was a provision to allow 15-year leaseholders to transfer the remaining years of their leases to an eligible third party. Another allowed legacy leaseholders to transfer their leased land by nominating the next leaseholder. It wasn’t exactly reinstatement of the unit transfer, but it did address some producer concerns.

The proposed changes were well received by the leaseholders association.

“We appreciate the hard work the agriculture minister’s office and department staff did on this file to get it done in such a short time frame,” said Benson at the time. “But they will have to forgive us if we watch warily for the implementation.”

The changes were also met with speculation, (denied by Johnson), that the looming October election, combined with slumping poll numbers, had something to do with the government’s sudden willingness to play ball.

It wasn’t perfect, but it looked like the dust might settle on the ACL issue.

Then the election writ dropped.

To sweeten the pot on the file, the P.C.s promised to make permanent a 50 per cent temporary rent reduction that had been in place for 2023. For its part, the NDP campaigned on reversing the changes to ACL regulations. The party said it would reinstate unit transfers.

The NDP won the election, including the area near Dauphin where many farmers use Crown lands for forage and grazing. It is represented by current Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn, and some pundits suggest he was able to reclaim his former seat, in part, by leveraging local anger over the ACL issue.

That brings us to today.

The first thing the new government did on the issue was extend 2022’s temporary rent reduction into 2024. Some leaseholders hoped for a more meaningful announcement but, then again, the Crown lands issue has many parts, and changes can’t easily be made with one stroke of a pen.

It remains to be seen if the issue continues to be a political hot potato, but it is clear that the saga continues.

It also means my late-November chat about ACL with MBP’s Callum will not be the last.

Sorry, Carson.

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On Dec. 19, the provincial and federal governments announced a $2.9-million agreement between the Government of Manitoba and biofuel company Azure Sustainable Fuels Corp. Funds will be provided through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The money is slated for Azure’s front-end engineering design study, a planning step in which technical specifications and early construction designs may be drawn up and more detailed timelines and budgets estimated.

“This is a cutting-edge project for Manitoba farmers and oilseed processors,” said ag minister Ron Kostyshyn in a news release.

Why it matters: Oilseeds sectors including canola have high hopes for the emerging biofuels market.

The RM of Portage la Prairie is one of several locations the company has tagged for biofuel processing. Studies are being developed for multiple sites, Azure’s website states. In an Oct. 30 news release, the company cited four planned sites in North America, with a goal to have the studies and other work needed for regulatory approvals complete by the end of next year.

Once the plan is fully realized, the company estimates it will tap about one million tonnes of feedstocks like soybean and canola oils to produce as much as one billion litres of SAF per year.

Back in June, then-premier Heather Stefanson and then-federal ag minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced their governments would provide $2.9 million toward the engineering design study.

The Portage la Prairie facility is expected to cost $1.9 billion to build, a June 20 news release said. Once built, it’s expected to create 150 jobs and add $2 billion to the Manitoba economy.

Construction is slated to begin in 2025, said Azure president and CEO Douglas Cole, in a December news conference.

SAF

The Canadian Council for Sustainable Aviation Fuels estimates SAF can reduce emissions by up to 80 per cent over its life cycle compared to traditional jet fuel, but it makes up only 0.2 per cent of global jet fuel use and costs three to five times more than traditional jet fuel.

In early December, International Air Transport Association (IATA) chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen told media that only three per cent of global oil and gas capital budgets are invested into SAF production. Profit margins are much higher in the sector than in aviation, which is set to reach a 2.7 per cent profit margin in 2024.

“This clearly has to change,” she said.

By 2050, 500 million tonnes of SAF will be needed to meet environmental targets. By 2030, the IATA forecasts that SAF production will sit at only 63 million tonnes.

Dozens of airlines have signed agreements with SAF producers around the world as pressure rises in Europe to meet regulatory requirements, which come into force in 2025. In September 2022, the Canadian government announced a target of 10 per cent SAF use by 2030, as part of a “vision” of a net-zero aviation sector by 2050, a federal news release said.

– With files from Reuters.

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Kostyshyn looked back on the year during a Dec. 19 interview with the Manitoba Co-operator.

Why it matters: The Dauphin region MLA, elected Oct. 3, regained his old post as agriculture minister when the NDP formed its government this fall. He previously served in the post from 2012 to 2016.

Kostyshyn represents the only highly agricultural district to go orange when Manitoba voted this fall.

Asked if the new government would continue to phase out the education property tax, Kostyshyn said the NDP had maintained the current 50 per cent rebate so far, but isn’t ready to commit to further rollbacks.

“That’s an ongoing discussion,” he said.

The previous Progressive Conservative government had pledged to gradually phase out the education property tax, beginning with a 25 per cent rebate for residential and farm properties in 2021, and a 10 per cent rebate for other properties, such as commercial or industrial land.

The move was praised by agriculture groups including Keystone Agricultural Producers at the time.

Kostyshyn pointed to a projected $1.6-billion deficit in provincial coffers as a reason the rollback needs review. He indicated the government hopes, at minimum, to maintain the 50 per cent rebate.

Crown lands

Announcements are forthcoming regarding the troubled agricultural Crown land system, Kostyshyn said. Several initiatives were promised for the New Year.

On Jan. 2, 2024, the province announced that changes to the Crown lands system were in force. The changes include a five-year term extension for leaseholders with a forage management plan, changes to how land improvements are valued and forage capacity is calculated, the ability for legacy leaseholders to nominate the next leaseholder and the ability for 15-year leaseholders to transfer the remainder of their term to any other eligible party.

The announcement echoes changes approved under the previous government under then-ag minister Derek Johnson in late summer 2023.

Kostyshyn, whose region sits well within cattle country, ran on NDP promises to undo many changes the previous government had made to the agricultural Crown land system.

Those changes, which included changes to lease terms, a higher rental formula and the loss of a measure that had previously allowed ranchers to transfer lease rights with the sale of a ranch, proved highly unpopular with forage leaseholders, who at one point considered a legal challenge to the system.

A number of further changes were met with wary producer approval during the last year of the P.C.s’ tenure after the file was re-opened in 2022. The saga is still a sore point for many ranchers in Manitoba’s Parkland and Interlake.

Since assuming his post, Kostyshyn has signaled a desire to move slowly and deliberately on the matter.

“What we are doing is basically starting from ground zero and reviewing the present Crown land lease legislation that was brought in by the previous government,” he told the Co-operator in November.

The NDP has committed to extending a rent reduction introduced by the P.C.s earlier in the year. The previous government had laid out a three-year graduated rent reduction, in which 2023 rates were cut by half of the regular rate, 2024 rates were set to rise to 33 per cent of the regular rate and 2025 rates would be set at 15 per cent below the regular rate.

The NDP government announced abandonment of that schedule and set 2024 rents at 55 per cent below the formula’s rate.

The Manitoba Crown Land Leaseholders Association welcomed the announcement, telling the Co-operator in early December that, “This is definitely a positive first step in helping to correct a lot of the problems created with the devastating changes that were implemented in 2019.”

Beyond next year, however, Kostyshyn was non-committal.

“We continue to have that conversation at the cabinet table and with the department of finance,” he said, referring to the provincial deficit.

Business risk management

Kostyshyn said his department has talked with federal officials about agriculture’s business risk management programs and shared ideas, but had nothing new to report.

His mandate letter calls on him to “work with the federal government to ensure strong AgriRecovery and AgriStability supports to help producers make ends meet while they navigate the impacts of climate change.”

Manitoba cattle farmers have long asked for business risk management options better tailored to livestock production.

Kostyshyn reiterated that he understands the importance of BRM programs from personal experience as a farmer. He ran a family mixed farm for four decades.

Valued-added processing

One of the previous government’s flagship programs was its Manitoba Protein Advantage strategy, which proposed to make Manitoba the ‘Silicon Valley’ of protein.

Asked about his approach toward the goals set out in that strategy, Kostyshyn said one of his mandates is adding value to the raw agricultural products Manitoba produces.

“Our goal is to continue to work with industry of all sectors,” he said, adding that “we need to seriously start to make some foundations … [so] that we can process the product and retail it, package it and retail it out of our province.”

Kostyshyn said the opportunities, including those involving protein, are “unbelievable.”

He added that announcements are forthcoming for agriculture’s value-added sphere.

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