New measures take forage capacity into account, allow farmers to add five years to their terms and address lease transfers
The Manitoba Crown Land Leaseholders Association says the province’s new regulations are a welcome step and more is needed.
“We’re still holding out for the promises that were made by the premier and (agriculture) minister during the election,” said president Brent Benson.
On Jan. 2, the province announced that changes to the system were officially in effect. Under the new rules, the province said, “forage capacity will be determined when the lease is issued and will remain for the entire length of the agreement.”
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Changes also introduced a way for producers to add five years to their term, for a total of 20 years, assuming they “complete and implement a forage management plan for at least the last five years of the 15-year lease term.”
The new measures also touch on lease transfers, a sore point for producers following the loss of the unit transfer, a measure that previously allowed them to transfer lease rights along with the sale of their farm. Many argued their ranches were unsellable without unit transfers, given a large proportion of the land base was tied up in leases.
The new rules lay out “unlimited transfers of a 15-year forage lease or renewable permit to any eligible lessee for the remainder of the lease term,” while “legacy leaseholders will be able to nominate the next leaseholder, subject to the Treaty Land Entitlement and consultation assessment.”
Another amendment changes how land improvements made by an outgoing leaseholder are valued, and how that outgoing leaseholder may be compensated for their investment.
“In the last year of the lease, outgoing leaseholders that choose to be compensated for improvements must obtain an appraisal from an accredited appraiser indicating the value of the eligible improvements,” the Jan. 2 release said.
“The appraised value will be posted at the time of allocation, and if the lease is reallocated within two years of expiration, the successful bidder must pay the outgoing leaseholder the posted amount.”
The new regulations echo changes announced by the previous government that were approved in August 2023.
Benson is holding out for a full return to the way unit transfers were handled in the past.
In 2019, the province unveiled new regulations for its modernized agricultural crown lands program, which had been in the works since 2017. Producers were angered by the changes, leading to emergency producer meetings in the Parkland and Interlake regions in the days and weeks following release of the new rules.
Among the major irritants, producers decried the change to rent calculation methods, which promised to greatly increase rates, and the elimination of the unit transfer. Leaseholder association members took the first steps toward a legal challenge.
In 2022, then-ag minister Derek Johnson re-opened the file. The government polled leaseholders and results were presented in 2023. They echoed the criticisms that producers had previously voiced, particularly in the desire for unit transfers.
That summer, the government announced changes that addressed a number of issues raised in the survey.
They were well-received by the industry and the NDP kept crown land changes on its platform during Manitoba’s fall election. The party campaigned on reversing the 2019 changes and bringing back the unit transfer. This was also an action item listed in Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn’s mandate letter after the NDP’s electoral win.
“Manitoba producers felt abandoned by the previous government, whose changes to crown land leases hurt their livelihood,” Kostyshyn said in the Jan. 2 media release. “These changes provide more certainty for producers as they make investments in their operations.”
Benson said it all sounded familiar.
“It’s basically the exact same changes that the previous government made last year. We’re pleased that they didn’t cancel the previous changes because they may allow some people to retire and achieve the value that they deserved for their improvements.”
But Benson said uncertainty remains.
“No young person is going to take over a farm when, in 15 years, they may have to bid against other guys for their farm again.”
Rent also remains a bone of contention.
During the election, the Progressive Conservatives promised to make permanent an existing 50 percent rent reduction, which had been announced as a temporary measure in light of production challenges and was set to gradually disappear over three years.
The new NDP government said it would increase that temporary reduction to 55 percent into 2024, but has yet to say whether that reduction will extend past this year.
Recent changes make no mention of the rental calculation.
“They’re still using that formula they came up with in 2019,” Benson said.
He estimated that, without the temporary discount, rents would be four times higher than producers were paying four years ago. Even with the 55 percent discount, rents are still nearly double what they were in 2019, he said.
“They need to come up with a longer-term plan rather than just ad hoc programs that depend on which way the winds are blowing that year,” said Benson. “It’s pretty nerve-wracking to go year-to-year, never knowing if you’re going to have to come up with another $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000 that you hadn’t budgeted for.”
The leaseholders association has no information about other changes that were promised during the election, Benson said, but he’s hopeful and patient.
“We’re realistic. We’re hoping to have some dialogue with them soon. We knew that there was no possible way they could do it all in two months, but hopefully they’re catching up on all the issues so that, in the next month or two, they can start moving forward on some other things that were talked about.”
Manitoba Beef Producers welcomed the announcement. In a statement, the producer group said that MBP “thanks the Manitoba government for proceeding with Agricultural Crown Land Leases and Permits Regulation changes that should benefit lease holders.
“MBP is engaging with Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn and Manitoba Agriculture staff to ensure the program is affordable, effective and responsive to clients’ needs.”
