Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) was pleased with the provincial government’s continued support of agriculture as a handful of positive developments emerged from the Nov. 21 Throne Speech.
Yesterday’s speech touched on a number of topics of importance to the provincial beef industry, notably, Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives, the forthcoming Canadian Agricultural Partnership, biosecurity and modernizing Crown lands policies.
“It is encouraging to have a provincial government that sees agriculture as a priority,” said MBP President Ben Fox. “The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is greatly anticipated by the industry and we are happy to learn the government plans to invest CAP dollars in capturing emerging market opportunities. As we work towards growing our Manitoba beef industry capturing new markets will be critical. The government’s desire to improve environmental outcomes is certainly in step with the current focus of the beef industry and we welcome further investment through CAP. As a core partner in MBFI, we are proud of the progress the project has made in a short time and couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds. The government’s recognition of the promise MBFI holds was encouraging for all involved.”
Fox added the work to modernize Crown lands policies has been a focus for MBP. With Manitoba set to enter the New West Partnership the opportunity has arose for some important changes to regulations and policies. “We look at this as an opportunity to fully engage on behalf of producers to get common sense, transparency and some lease-holder rights into the revamped rules,” Fox said.
The recently announced Climate and Green Plan was also mentioned in the Throne Speech. The province’s carbon pricing plan is expected to come into effect in 2018 and MBP will continue to monitor developments around the plan to ensure the needs and concerns of the beef industry are front of mind. MBP will also continue to lobby the government to recognize the role that our members play in carbon sequestration.
“This is an important time for the provincial beef industry as there are a number of matters to deal with as we work to grow our industry and that was reflected in the Throne Speech. We will continue to lobby the government to see that needs of our members are met.”
