Local farmers to get $194-M in flood relief

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This article was published 02/07/2011 (5206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thousands of Manitoba farmers are set to receive $194 million in federal-provincial relief this year due to unprecedented flooding this spring.

The aid package for both crop and livestock producers includes a $30 per acre payment for unseeded and flooded-out areas. That money will top-up what farmers collect from any crop insurance they may have.

Ranchers will receive aid to make up for feed shortages caused by flooding. They will also receive $50 per acre to restore hay land destroyed by flooding. Another $15 per acre will be paid to plant so-called ‘green feed’ — annual crops that can be harvested later this year for livestock feed.

The aid comes as Manitoba farmers failed to plant a record three million acres of land this spring. The impact on Manitoba’s economy is expected to exceed $1 billion.

“The program I’m announcing today is focused on supporting both the recovery and the rebuilding efforts of these producers,” Agriculture Minister Stan Struthers said on Thursday.

Struthers had to rush the farm aid announcement because of a looming blackout on provincial government announcements due to the Oct. 4 provincial election. That blackout kicks in at midnight on Tuesday.

It put the provincial minister in the awkward position of announcing a federal-provincial program alone before all the details had been worked out with Ottawa. The feds generally pick up 60 per cent of the cost of such programs.

But Struthers assured reporters that federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz was on board and understood the pinch the provincial government was in.

“We’ve worked very well together on moving forward with these programs,” Struthers said. “We’ve had excellent meetings with the federal folks.”

The wide-ranging aid program will also help cattle producers restore feedlots and assist fruit and vegetable growers and others to recover lost perishable inventory.

Doug Chorney, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, said his organization was pleased with the government response. “We’re very positive about the announcement.”

He said he was especially pleased that both livestock and crop producers were being informed about flood assistance at the same time. Last year, crop producers were told of their flood aid several months before ranchers got word of theirs.

Major Jay Fox, president of the Manitoba Beef Producers, said his organization had two words for Struthers: “Thank you.”

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca