Last week in New Bothwell on the farm of Jake Wiebe, I was honoured to join my colleague Ralph Eichler, Minister of Agriculture for the announcement of a joint federal and provincial $1.2 million investment in 275 on-farm food safety and animal welfare projects.
Our government and Manitoba farmers are advocates for biosecurity in the province and Manitoba farmers continue to be innovators and leaders when it comes to biosecurity, assurance systems, animal care and food safety. This funding will go a long way to build on the gains that have been made, with improvements to focus directly on biosecurity, traceability, food safety and quality, and animal welfare practices.
Some of these projects, valued at more than $610,000, include: purchasing and installing low-stress handling equipment for cows and sheep, adding non-slip flooring and stall enhancements for dairy cows, and improving environmental monitoring inside poultry barns. Manitoba leafcutter and honeybee producers received more than $83,000 for 50 projects including: participation in a honeycomb exchange program, new microscopes to more quickly identify and address diseases on-farm, bee cell sampling and separating equipment.
In total, 255 livestock producers and 20 crop producers were approved for funding under Growing Forward 2’s Growing Assurance – Food Safety On-Farm program. To be eligible, producers must have implemented a national on-farm food safety program for their commodity where one exists. More than half of the approved projects focus on animal welfare and will help Manitoba farmers implement new requirements under national codes of practice for caring for livestock. Grain farmers were able to apply for funding to support a number of projects that would improve biosecurity, including in-field pest monitoring, seed testing for pathogens, grain sample storage and managing access to equipment and fields.
I am proud to be part of a government that supports Manitoba farmers’ good work in producing safe, healthy, high-quality foods that consumers enjoy and trust, whether in our Province, in Canada, or internationally. It is these types of investments that contribute to consumer confidence and yield greater prosperity for Manitoba farmers and their families.
