The Keystone Agricultural Producers think it’s ridiculous that Manitoba farmers will have to pay a five percent deductible before they receive a payment for flooded out acres.
The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation is charging a five percent deductible on the federal provincial AgriRecovery program for excess moisture and flooding, announced earlier this month.
The deductible is not needed because these types of assistance programs are usually funded 60 percent by the federal government and 40 percent by the provinces, said Kyle Foster, a KAP representative from Manitoba’s Interlake.
“They’re not 60 (percent), 35 and five,” he said, during the association’s general council meeting in Brandon July 21.
After a brief debate of the issue, Foster and other KAP members passed a resolution that would require MASC to drop the deductible.
Ian Wishart, KAP’s president, said his organization has already spoken with Manitoba’s minister of agriculture and other provincial officials regarding the deductible.
It might be reasonable to require a minimum number of acres for eligibility, Wishart noted. But for producers with a large number of flooded out acres, a five percent deductible is a fair chunk of money.
Based on KAP’s research, Saskatchewan producers won’t have to pay a deductible to receive payment from the program. It’s unknown at this point if Alberta farmers will have a deductible or not.
