STEWART HEADING TO ANNUAL AGRICULTURE MINISTERS MEETING

Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart will leave today to meet with his federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) counterparts for their annual meeting being held September 12-14, 2012, in Whitehorse, Yukon.

The meeting will focus on the next FPT policy and program framework, Growing Forward 2, which will replace the current suite of programs that will end on March 31, 2013. The new agreement will outline the funding parameters for business risk management (BRM) programs such as AgriStability, AgriInvest, Crop Insurance and AgriRecovery. Changes are expected in some areas of BRM programming.

"We've consulted extensively with our stakeholders and received valuable feedback on future agriculture programs," Stewart said. "And quite frankly, our position differs from other provinces on potential changes to BRM programs."

In order for changes to BRM programs to take effect, eight provinces must support the new agreement. This means despite Saskatchewan's large agriculture industry compared to other provinces, the agreement can pass without Saskatchewan's support.

However, Saskatchewan must sign the new proposed agreement in order to access federal funding for non-BRM programs in areas such as research, water infrastructure, market development and farm business development programming.

"Funding for initiatives such as water infrastructure, research and other non-BRM programs are critical to the future of our producers and industry," Stewart said. "I will push for increased federal funding to reinvest into strategic initiatives to help move agriculture forward in Saskatchewan and benefit our farmers, ranchers and entire industry."

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For more information, contact:

Jonathan Tremblay
Agriculture
Regina
Phone: 306-787-5155
Email: jonathan.tremblay@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-529-4199