May 24, 2011
Province Announces New Support for Agricultural Producers in the Shoal Lakes Area
– – –Program to be Retroactive to 2010: Struthers
Agricultural producers dealing with high water in the Shoal Lakes area will benefit from a new program, Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) Minister Stan Struthers announced today.
“We know that a lot of hay and pasture land has been lost to flood waters and we are acting now to support farmers who are worried about feeding and pasturing their livestock,” said the minister. “Flood waters have been an ongoing problem for producers in this area, but with the measures we are putting in place today, we are committing to providing these farm families with the help they need.”
The new program will include flood-related compensation assistance for:
- producers who lost income of hay and pasture land in 2010 and 2011; and
- transportation costs related to moving animals and feed that was threatened by flood waters.
An additional element is a voluntary buy-out program with transitional assistance for an additional year for producers impacted by high-water levels, Struthers said, adding the cost of the initiative is estimated at over $22 million over three years.
“We will continue to work with the municipalities and producers around the lake on short-, medium- and long-term solutions to flooding around the Shoal Lakes,” the minister said. “There is unfortunately no quick fix to the high-water levels, but we have heard clearly from producers in the area that they need immediate financial assistance and we are delivering on that now as we continue to assess longer-term options.”
MAFRI staff is working directly with severely affected producers in the area and will assist with getting needed feed to livestock.
Since 2007, almost $26 million has been invested to support Shoal Lakes area producers through various farm assistance programs.
For more details on the program, contact the local MAFRI GO Office.
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