Farmscape for September 17, 2012  (Episode 4238)

Canada's Agriculture Minister says Growing Forward 2 will continue to provide a full slate of business risk management programs while offering greater flexibility to tailor strategic initiatives to regional needs.
On Friday Canada's Ministers of Agriculture reached agreement on the content of the Growing Forward 2 policy framework for the agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sector.
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says Growing Forward 2 will provide more than three billion dollars over five years, including an increase of 50 percent in cost shared investment for strategic initiatives.

Clip-Gerry Ritz-Canada Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food:
This increased investment will be focused on three priority areas, innovation competiveness and market development.
We only have to browse the aisles of our local groceries to see how innovation is delivering profits to the farm gate.
Every day we're seeing how research can diversify farm businesses.
From the creation of canola to the development of no-till, research has been putting dollars back in farmers' pockets for decades.
This new framework will provide provinces and territories with even greater flexibility to tailor strategic initiatives to their local needs.
For example there will be increased opportunity for provinces and territories to invest in environmental initiatives and on farm infrastructure like water.
Farmers can be assured that we will continue to stand with them.
Growing Forward 2 will include a complete and effective suite of business risk management programs.
Not only will we continue to share the farming risk but government will continue to cover the vast majority of risk that farmers face.
Agri-Insurance, Agri-recovery and the Advance Payment Program will continue to backstop farmers, as they have done in the past, delivering billions of dollars in support when farmers face serious challenges.

Ritz adds under the new framework AgriStability program fees will be reduced, negative margin coverage under AgriStability for year over year loses will be improved and the deposit limit under AgriInvest will be increased.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council