Manure nitrogen guidelines
Time to scout sunnies
Look for diseases, insects » Pg 17
august 7, 2014
… may not reflect reality » Pg 13
SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 72, No. 32
Grain commission bonding replacement plan stalls Insurance industry rules make it difficult to protect farmer payments for delivered grain
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manitobacooperator.ca
Opposition seeks high ground as flood waters recede Manitoba’s opposition party wants action on flood mitigation but is a little shallow on details
By Allan Dawson co-operator staff
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fter a year of negotiations to develop an insurancebased producer payment protection plan, the Canadian Grain Commission has called it quits, surprising and disappointing some farm groups. The CGC has been attempting to replace the current bonding system to protect farmers against payment defaults for grain delivered to merchandisers. It had been negotiating with Atradius Credit Insurance N.V. to develop an insurance-based option. Chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson said insurance industry rules made it difficult to accommodate the grain industry requirements. “When we got quite a ways down the road we began to see we may not be able to marry some of our requirements and their requirements and by June it became obvious that we were going to be too far apart,” he said in an interview July 31. The CGC will look at other options while the current bonding See GRAIN PLAN on page 6 »
photo: DANIEL BETZE
By Shannon VanRaes co-operator staff
Publication Mail Agreement 40069240
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here are some muddy politics swirling around Manitoba’s flood waters. On July 30, Manitoba’s opposition Tories called for a moratorium on drainage in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba, as part of a Progressive Conservative plan to reduce flooding. Tory water critic, Shannon Martin said he had asked “the province to engage our counterparts in Saskatchewan to have a moratorium on the issuance of new drainage until such time that a more co-ordinated approach is taken.” The MLA for Morris also said that it would be unfair to ask our neighbours
to address drainage without making changes here at home. “We’d have to look at applying it here as well, obviously we can’t simply ask Saskatchewan to bear the burden,” he said. But less than 24 hours later, Martin claimed he had “misspoke” on the issue. In an email, he said that “the moratorium on all new drainage was exclusive to landowners in Saskatchewan.” Martin wrote that “such a moratorium would allow affected properties downstream in Manitoba additional time to proceed with flood mitigation efforts without having to deal with uncontrolled waters from upstream.” The suggestion of a moratorium in Manitoba took the president of Key-
stone Agricultural Producers (KAP) by surprise. “There’s no way that KAP would ever support a complete moratorium on drainage,” said Doug Chorney. “We think the approach of sustainable drainage is a more practical solution, which means that you drain in a way that assists landowners who have water issues, while being mindful of the consequences downstream.” T h e u m b re l l a f a r m o rg a n i z a tion has also promoted water retention projects, and played an integral role in the development of a surface water management strategy recently released by the Manitoba government. The strategy will also see major See FLOOD RECEDES on page 6 »
SOYBEANS: catching on in western Manitoba » PAGE 18