Details on new SCAP programs to be announced within weeks, says Manitoba ag minister

Manitoba Ag Minister Derek Johnson speaks with media at Ag Days in Brandon, MB.

Details on programs to be funded under the new five-year Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP) will be announced within the next few weeks — at least in Manitoba, according to the provincial agriculture minister.

The current five-year Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), which covers most of the agricultural programs that are funded by the federal and provincial governments across Canada, is set to expire at the end of March.

Ag ministers from across the country took “baby steps” forward on SCAP implementation during a virtual federal-provincial-territorial meeting on Friday, according to Manitoba Ag Minister Derek Johnson, speaking with media at Ag Days in Brandon.

He’s confident Manitoba’s bilateral deal with the federal government and subsequent details about fed/prov-funded programs for the next five years will be announced in the coming weeks.

“It’ll be weeks not months. We really hope it will be seamless from CAP to SCAP. It’s very important that producers don’t get a lag in there because they have to know what their programming is going to be and what they’ll be able to apply for. We have to have all that stuff ready to roll out by April 1st,” he says. “The only fair thing to do is concentrate on getting that deal signed.”

Johnson also shared the province’s annual update on crop insurance for the upcoming crop year at Ag Days. Total AgriInsurance coverage in Manitoba for 2023 is expected to reach $5.3 billion on 9.45 million acres, with average coverage estimated at $560 per acre, compared to $499 per acre in 2022, reflecting continued strength in commodity prices.

Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) will be expanding its Contract Price Option (CPO) to the majority of crops for 2023, excluding potatoes, vegetables, and forages. Originally created in 2020, CPO was previously only available for canola and field peas. The CPO blends a producers price of contracted production with the base AgriInsurance dollar value to better reflect market prices.

Johnson also announced MASC will be changing its AgriInsurance premium calculations so that a producer’s rate will not increase by more than 10 per cent year-over-year — a move that’s being made to reduce the impact of weather disasters on premium rate increases.

Under CAP, AgriInsurance premiums were shared 40 per cent by insured producers, 36 per cent by the federal government, and 24 per cent by the Manitoba government.

Related:

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