Key among the wide range of farming topics discussed at Keystone Agricultural Producers’ General Council meeting this past week in Portage la Prairie was the upcoming Growing Forward 3 policy framework, a federal-provincial agreement that sets the terms and conditions for the majority of agriculture programming for farmers.
The current Growing Forward 2 agreement in place expires in 2018, but is so complex that farm groups are already looking three years down the road to Growing Forward 3. The Growing Forward policy framework includes business risk management (income stabilization, insurance and disaster), environmental, and food safety programs.
Delegates to the meeting passed a resolution calling on the federal and provincial governments to involve KAP and other farm groups in the decisions that will be made during Growing Forward 3 development.
“This is an important process, and we must be at the table,” said KAP president Dan Mazier. “There is so much at stake. Business risk management programs in Growing Forward 2 are not meeting farmers’ needs, and we must look at new programming that is more robust and responsive to changes on the farm – and this includes the effects of climate change.”
Delegates also discussed on-farm fuel storage, and called on the provincial government to consult with them on the implementation of changes that have been made to storage regulations. The rural/urban divide and creation of a new urban/rural connection also received attention at the meeting, as did encouraging and supporting new, small-scale farmers who are former urban residents.
Another discussion concerned the new four-year limit for workers to remain in Canada under the Temporary Foreign Workers Program, something that will adversely affect the agriculture industry because it has a difficult time attracting Canadian workers.
During yesterday’s meeting, the CWB’s chief strategy and chief operating officers called in from their headquarters in Winnipeg to explain this week’s sale of 50.1 per cent of CWB shares to the G3 Global Grain Group.
