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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026
Agriculture Now
RUTH BONNEVILLE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Manitoba Minister of Agriculture Ron Kostyshyn said the government is taking action to support farmers impacted by flooding.
WES ANDERSON Water flows at the corner of Provincial Road 579 and Municipal Road 112 North in the Municipality of Russell Binscarth.
The governments of Canada, Manitoba help farmers with changes to AgriStability
important AgriStability and AgriInvest deadlines. These changes provide flex- ibility through existing business risk management programs and help farm- ers access support without the need for new programming. AgriStability protects Canadian producers against large declines in farming income for reasons such as production loss, increased costs and market conditions. It is one of the Busi- ness Risk Management programs un- der the Sustainable Canadian Agricul- tural Partnership.
regions, and our government is taking action to ensure farmers have access to the support they need as they re- cover,” said Manitoba Minister of Agri- culture Ron Kostyshyn. “By enhancing AgriStability supports, we are help- ing producers manage the impacts of flooding, maintain their operations and continue contributing to Manito- ba’s strong agricultural sector.” The flooding that occurred across Manitoba in June and July affect- ed producers at a critical time in the growing season and coincided with
application forms. Farmers who have already received interim payments will automatically receive a top-up to the 75 percent level. Manitoba has also implemented late participation for the 2026 AgriStability program year, allowing farmers who did not enroll by the April 30 deadline to still participate in the program, albe- it with a reduced benefit. These farm- ers will have to pay an upfront fee be- fore submitting their 2026 application. “Flooding has created significant challenges for producers in impacted
late filings for AgriStability insurance. Farmers who live outside of those ar- eas who missed the filing deadline be- cause of flooding impacts can appeal for a waiver. The governments are also increas- ing the maximum interim payment available to farmers enrolled in the 2026 AgriStability program year from 50 percent to 75 percent of the estimat- ed final payment. This change will im- prove cash flow for farmers by allowing them to receive a larger interim pay- ment within weeks of completing their
by SVJETLANA MLINAREVIC T he governments of Canada and Manitoba have made changes to the AgriStability program in order to make it easier and faster for farmers to get support for flood dam- age. Farmers in municipalities and res- idents in First Nations communities who live in areas that declared a state of emergency for the June and July 2026 flooding, will not be penalized for
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BROOK JONES WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald makes an agriculture announcement in Winnipeg on Sept. 7, 2025. Government of Canada invests up to $2 million to develop sustainable fertilizer technology by SVJETLANA MLINAREVIC T he federal government is investing up to $1.98 million to develop sustainable fertiliz- er technology to reduce emissions and mi-
Working in the fields?
could allow farmers to use less fertilizer, reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and fertilizer costs. “Federal government funding gives Lucent Bio the opportunity to take the technology we have been developing and move it into a new area with significant potential in agriculture,” said Farah Nour, co-founder and chief science officer of Lu- cent BioSciences Inc. “We’re applying our biode- gradable biopolymer technology to controlled-re- lease nitrogen to help growers get more value from the nitrogen they apply while reducing nutrient losses to the environment. Support from the fed- eral government allows us to improve this work faster and brings us one step closer to putting a Canadian-developed solution into the hands of growers.” In 2022, Lucent Bio received up to $1.3 million under the ACT Program – research and innovation stream to develop this technology for use on seeds, known now as Nutreos. In this project, Lucent Bio is also partnering with A&L Canada Laboratories Inc, Bureau Veritas Can- ada, Simon Fraser University’s Chemistry Depart- ment and 4D LABs. This investment supports the Government of Canada’s commitment to helping the agriculture sector adopt clean technologies and adapt to cli- mate change. The ACT program is focused on three priority ar- eas: green energy and energy efficiency; precision agriculture; and bioeconomy solutions. To date, 535 projects have been announced under the ACT Program, totaling up to more than $314 million across Canada.
croplastics. Under the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) program in the research and innovation stream, Lucent BioSciences Inc. (Lucent Bio) will use the money to change the way that fertilizer coatings are made. “Canadian companies are developing innova- tive solutions that can help make agriculture more sustainable and resilient. Through the ACT – re- search and innovation stream, Lucent Bio is de- veloping technologies that could help farmers use nitrogen more efficiently while reducing fertilizer use, emissions, and microplastics. By supporting the development of clean technologies like this, our government is helping Canadian farmers re- duce costs, protect the environment and build a more sustainable agriculture sector,” said Cana- dian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald. Most controlled-release nitrogen fertilizers used in agriculture have a microplastic coating. With federal funding support, Lucent Bio will provide a more sustainable alternative by applying a bio- degradable coating to these fertilizers, made from surplus starch fertilizer, which can help plants use nitrogen more efficiently. The Burnaby-based company’s coating technol- ogy is designed to release nitrogen closer to when plants need it most during their growth cycle. This
Watch for power lines.
Safety is the answer. hydro.mb.ca/farm
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