MBC120426

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RUSSELL CHILDREN HELP REUNITE FILIPINO FAMILIES

“ SPEED DATING” FOR ORGANIC BUYERS and SELLERS

Young brother and sister started fundraising campaign » PaGe 12

FLOOD DAMAGE

April 26, 2012

Experts say growing last year’s hot sellers leads to a glut » PaGe 29

SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 70, No. 17

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$1.75

manitobacooperator.ca

Lake Manitoba ranchers fear another year of losses Soggy ranchers appeal to province to extend last year’s compensation programs to include this year By Daniel Winters co-operator staff / langruth

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Jonas Johnson stands on the seven-foot dike built around his yard. Behind him, formerly productive hayfields that extend to the Lake Manitoba shore, are a sea of muck.   photo: Daniel Winters

he flood waters have receded, but residents along the shore of Lake Manitoba are still dealing with the damage they caused. Flooded fields, clogged drains, downed fences, and cattail-filled pastures where now only seagulls graze are common sights. Langruth-area farmer Jonas Johnson and his wife Lydia live in a 94-year-old house about half a mile from the lakeshore. The forage they produce on their five quarters and Crown leases used to provide a good living — until last year. On the wall of their porch, there’s an aerial photo of the farm taken when they were still grain producers. It shows a lush corn crop growing in a tightly managed field between the yard and the shore. Now, the view from the sevenfoot dike the government built to protect their yard site from the deluge, tells a different story. “We ain’t going to get a crop off there — and the rest of it is See RANCHERS on page 6 »

Adaptation councils lose budget Federal government will centralize delivery of CAAP funding after March 2014 By Lorraine Stevenson co-operator staff

Publication Mail Agreement 40069240

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egional agriculture adaptation councils across Canada are losing their role as administrators of the federal Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) after March 2014, in a move by the federal government to centralize the program out of Ottawa. The moved was flagged in federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s 2012 budget last month, which announced

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will consolidate delivery of all grants and contribution programs across the department. National-level CAAP project funding, which is earmarked for adaptation and innovation project development, was delivered by Agriculture and AgriFood Canada, while regional funding flowed through the councils. The move effectively ends a nearly two-decades long re l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e federal government and 14

regional councils representing every province and territory in Canada, including the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council, (MRAC) which formed in 1995. A spokesperson for Agriculture and Agr i-Food Canada (AAFC) said the decision to consolidate and centralize the program’s administration was not about councils’ work but to reduce risk of project duplication, while providing greater consistency, monitoring and accountability of projects.

Disappointing

Adaptation council spokespersons across Canada called the move to abandon regional council delivery of future federal funding “disappointing news.” Heather Broughton, chair of the Agriculture and Food Council of Alberta (AFC), said the government’s decision “will end an almost 20-year relationship between AFC and the federal government.” John Kikkert, chair of Ontario”s Agricultural See ADAPTATION BUDGET on page 6 »


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