Be at peace with a lease

By Shawn Cabak Manitoba Agriculture

The federal Agriculture and Agri-Food and Manitoba Agriculture ministers announced $221 million for strategic agricultural initiatives in Manitoba under the new the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP).

The Sustainable CAP is a five-year, $3.5-billion investment by Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments that supports Canada’s agri-food and agriproducts sectors. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5 billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.

The Manitoba government has launched a suite of programs under the Sustainable CAP framework that will help the sector reach its full potential by expanding business opportunities, investing in sustain- able practices throughout the sector, and strengthening resiliency of the entire food chain. These programs were developed through significant consultation with industry partners, who highlighted a number of priority areas, including research, innovation and market development, emergency preparedness and technology advancement.

The new Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program supports ecological goods and services by funding on-farm projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Eligible applicants include community pastures, agricultural Crown land forage lease-holders, First Nations and Métis communities and farmers outside of watershed district boundaries. The Sustainable CAP comes into effect April 1, and replaces the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

Shawn Cabak is a Livestock and Forage Extension Specialist based out of Portage la Prairie. You can contact him at shawn.cabak@gov.mb.ca. or by phone: (204) 239-3353.