The following is a list of resolutions passed at Keystone Agricultural Producers' (KAP) AGM held February 4 & 5 in Winnipeg:
1. Riparian Areas – District 2
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Manitoba to provide a tax credit to landowners for maintaining riparian areas.
2. Crown Lands – District 2
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Manitoba to ensure agricultural Crown lands are not sold for non-agricultural use.
3. Carbon Tax – District 4
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Canada to remove the fuel charge on all farm inputs under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (including farm heating on livestock buildings, workshops and grain drying).
4. Endangered Species – District 4
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Manitoba to ensure there is enough compensation in place to create an incentive for farmers to preserve endangered species on farmland in a timely manner.
5. Regaining the Chinese Market – District 8
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Canada to resolve the Chinese canola market access issue as quickly as possible so the Canadian agricultural industry can begin the process of regaining lost agricultural markets in China.
6. Media Campaign to Promote Agriculture – District 11
Resolved, THAT KAP work with other farm organizations and commodity groups within Manitoba and across Canada to launch a media campaign to promote a positive image of Canadian farmers from all sectors.
7. Crown Land Lease Rates – District 11
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Manitoba to postpone the Crown land lease rates increases to give producers an opportunity to recover from the dry conditions in 2019.
8. Agriculture Sector GHG Emission Balance – District 11
Resolved, THAT KAP promote the agriculture sector in Canada (and Manitoba) as net-zero emissions, with an excess net capture of 33Mt CO2e/yr (2017); and be it further
Resolved, THAT KAP promote the excess capture of carbon in the agriculture sector as a valuable service that Canadian farmers provide, to offset end user emissions like biofuels (energy sector), and other end user emissions from agriculture products; and be it further
Resolved, THAT KAP use sector-based numbers when discussing GHG emissions and capture, rather than lifecycle assessments. The government’s NIR emission numbers are sector-based; comparing these numbers to lifecycle assessments of our products shows incorrect conclusions; and be it further
Resolved, THAT KAP use the yearly NIR to communicate with government effectively, using their own numbers, thereby making KAP’s GHG emission lobby supporting the agriculture sector more effective; and be it further
Resolved, THAT KAP monitor the NIR agriculture sector emission numbers each year and promote the amount of carbon stored in grain, vegetables and meat products by farmers, in addition to carbon sequestered in Cropland – LULUCF; and be it further
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Canada, to include Cropland-LULUCF in the agriculture sector GHG emissions, rather than omitting it, to reflect the carbon agriculture is sequestering in the soil through good practices, already in practice; and be it further
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Canada to reduce GHG emission estimates in the NIR, for the sales of enhanced efficiency fertilizer use in Canada, for which farmers are currently not being credited for in the agriculture sector.
9. Manitoba Crop Variety Evaluation Trials Support – Manitoba Seed Growers Association
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development to maintain funding for the MCVET program, and Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development staff support for the MCVET Program.
10. Modernization & Enhancement of Farm Production Insurance – District 1
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation, the Government of Manitoba and the Government of Canada to enhance and modernize current farm production insurance.
11. Food Opportunities in Manitoba – District 1
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Manitoba to summarize and publicly release reports on domestic food and agricultural production, domestic food and agricultural surpluses, and food and agricultural imports into Manitoba.
12. Advance Payments Program – District 6
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Canada to increase the interest-free portion of the advance payments program to $250,000 for all commodities.
13. Tax Rebate for Renting Land to Young Farmers – District 6
Resolved, THAT KAP work with the young farmers policy committee, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, and the Department of Finance Canada to develop a program that would allow a landowner to be eligible for a full tax rebate on land rental income earned from renting land and/or selling land to a young farmer whose eligibility in the program would be defined under specific parameters.
14. Falling Number Used in Grain Contracts – District 6
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Canadian Grain Commission and the Western Grain Elevator Association to investigate methods to standardize and increase precision and speed of the determination of falling number.
15. Grain Moisture Testing – District 6
Resolved, THAT KAP investigate options to rectify the difference in moisture testing methods between UGMA style and 919.
16. Subject to Inspector’s Grade and Dockage Sample Size and Timelines – District 6
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Canadian Grain Commission to adjust the ‘Subject to Inspector’s Grade and Dockage’ program to require elevator companies to keep 1000g samples until time of settlement; and be it further
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Canadian Grain Commission to allow producers to initiate the ‘Subject to Inspector’s Grade and Dockage' process at any time from delivery until cheque settlement.
17. Rebates for Shelterbelts – District 3
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Manitoba and the Government of Canada to offer rebates for shelterbelts being planted on Manitoba farms in order to combat salinity, improve ground water quality and sequester carbon; and be it further
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby for a rebate program for shelterbelts to be administered through the Ag Action Manitoba Program with a cost share of 50% covered by the provincial government to a funding cap of $10,000 per farm.
18. Forage Seed Representation at MASC – Manitoba Forage Seed Association
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Manitoba to appoint a representative with experience from the forage seed industry to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation board of directors.
19. Farmland Ownership Act – District 6
Resolved, THAT KAP lobby the Government of Manitoba to review and modify the Farmland Ownership Act to ensure that Manitoba agricultural producers’ best interests are preserved.
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