Predator problems
Charolais show
Manitoba Beef Producers wants to quantify the issue » PG 8
Ag Ex brings national Charolais show to Brandon » PG 26
SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 75, No. 44 | $1.75
November 2, 2017
Bill 24 to allow new hog barns A diverse group of individuals and organizations spend two nights making the case for and against the hog industry BY SHANNON VANRAES Co-operator staff
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ntreated manure is good for the soil, anaerobic digesters are ineffective, hogs will poison Lake Winnipeg, farm expansion has ignored Treaty Land Entitlements and immigration relies on the pork industry. Those are just a sampling of the varied opinions heard by an all-party committee of the
Publication Mail Agreement 40069240
See Bill 24 on page 8 »
manitobacooperator.ca
Purple farm fuels exempted from Manitoba carbon tax The government is emphasizing the newly released ‘Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan’ is much more than just a carbon tax and is seeking citizen feedback BY ALLAN DAWSON Co-operator staff / Oak Hammock Marsh
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urple fuel won’t be subject to Manitoba’s proposed carbon tax, but that exemption may not be extended to heating for barns, greenhouses and grain dryers. The plan calls for Manitoba to bring in a flat $25-a-tonne carbon tax coming next year, rather than the federal government’s $10-a-tonne levy that would rise over time to $50 a tonne. “We all know the farm sector is critical to the province,” Premier Brian Pallister told reporters here Oct. 27 at the unveiling of his “Made-inManitoba Climate and Green Plan,” adding purple fuel was exempted because most farmers can’t pass the tax on. But the climate and green plan, more than a year in the making following extensive consultations, is “much, much, much more” than a carbon tax, Pallister stressed. The plan says climate change is real — something Pallister himself has said repeatedly. The plan’s goal is to — over the next five years — cut Manitoba’s carbon
emissions by between 2.4 million and 2.6 million tonnes, half of which will result from the carbon tax and the rest from measures such as a possible increase of the biodiesel mandate to five per cent from two, encouraging energy conservation and diverting organic waste from landfills. (See sidebar for more plan details and what it means for farmers.) “We haven’t quite got that (heating and dryer fuel part) finalized,” Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler told reporters. “That is part of the consultation process... in discussion with Manitoba Pork and Keystone Ag and other sectors.” Agriculture emits 32 per cent of Manitoba’s carbon, second only to transportation at 39 per cent. But much of agriculture’s contribution comes from applying nitrogen fertilizer and livestock, which no other jurisdiction has levied a carbon tax on, partly because emissions vary and are hard to link to individual farmers. The plan also says agriculture can help sequester carbon. “Rural communities have been heard, especially farm communiSee carbon tax on page 6 »
Purple fuel is exempt from Manitoba’s $25-a-tonne carbon plan that starts next year, but the province hasn’t decided if the exemption will apply to barn heating or grain dryer fuels. Premier Brian Pallister rolled out his Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan at Oak Hammock Marsh Oct. 27. PHOTO: ALLAN DAWSON
IS YO U R FARM WO RKIN G AS HARD AS YO U DO? FAR M MANAG E M E NT. DATA MANAG E M E NT. VA R I A B L E R AT E T E C H N O LO G Y. S U P P O R T. The results are clear with average yield increases* of: 10.8% in canola / 5.9% in wheat / 6.4% in barley. See the whole picture at echelonag.ca Available exclusively from CPS. BRING IT ON.
09/17-56406 *Results from 2016 data collected from 515,028 acres of canola, 379,336 acres of wheat and 88,360 of barley across a total of 4,227 fields in Western Canada. Echelon is a registered trademark of Crop Production Services (Canada) Inc. CPS CROP PRODUCTION SERVICES and Design is a registered trademark of Crop Production Services, Inc.
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