Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) is pleased with the province’s announcement on lifting the restriction for the application of nutrients on crop land across southern Manitoba. The announcement will allow farmers to commence field work in preparation for seeding.
“Due to favorable weather conditions over the past week the KAP office had received numerous calls from farmers who were ready to begin field work,” said Doug Chorney, KAP President. “We started our lobby effort early on Monday morning to get the province to lift the restriction due to the record temperatures and low soil-moisture content and we are pleased that in just over 24 hours the announcement was made.”
In Section 12(2) under the Nutrient Management Regulation it states that no person shall apply a substance containing nitrogen or phosphorus to land in any nutrient management zone between November 10 and April 10. However, there is a stipulation that an earlier date can be specified.
The announcement does not apply to livestock manure but KAP encourages producers to apply for variances if they intend to applying manure prior to April 10th. Producers can apply for variances in writing to their local Conservation office, providing a legal land description of where they wish to apply and information from their manure management plan including recent soil test data.
“We hope that government will take time to review the current nutrient and manure application regulations and consider changing them to be based on soil and weather conditions, rather than a fixed date”, said Chorney. “We see government moving in this direction with other regulations and hope that we can find a workable solution that ensures producers are able to work whenever conditions are appropriate.”
KAP thanks Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship for their speedy response on our call for an earlier date. We remind farmers to please plan farm safety as they enter the busy spring season. We will continue to work on behalf of Manitoba farmers.
