Farmscape for March 23, 2018

The President of Keystone Agricultural Producers is encouraging stakeholders involved with agriculture to explore the possibility of accessing funding through the province's planned climate and green fund to undertake conservation projects.
Last week the Manitoba government introduced legislation designed to implement its "Made in Manitoba Climate and Green Plan."
Included in the plan is a climate and green fund available for projects in Manitoba dedicated to help reduce emissions and adapt to climate change, such as public and active transportation, natural restoration such as wetland restoration, energy efficiency for buildings and waste and recycling programming.
Keystone Agricultural Producers President Dan Mazier describes the creation of the fund as historic.

Clip-Dan Mazier-Keystone Agricultural Producers:
It's finally recognizing that conservation and conservation practices in Manitoba need funding and they need to be arms length of government.
That's the one thing that's been kind of our weak link in all of this stuff.
When the government ran out of money they seemed to be cutting the environmental side of their budgets and things like that.
This is seed money.
Its going to take a year or two to set up but the idea of the establishment of this fund is quite significant.
Some people are asking, is this going to be part of the Environmental Goods and Services Program or Grow or ALUS, the Alternative Land Use Services Program.
ALUS is very agriculture focused.
This trust fund will be part of that..
It's more for working with conservation districts on different projects or water shed districts, working with communities in trying to bring back wetlands but also water management, everything to carbon reduction.

Mazier says the province is looking for input on possible projects and it's wide open on what will be eligible.
He encourages agricultural stakeholders to look into the program and to press the government to see what kind of projects will qualify under the fund.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

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