Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation

Changes to Manitoba Livestock Feed Assistance Program (MLFAP) – Expanded Eligibility

 

Why is this program important?
Forage is an important source of livestock feed. Excess moisture last summer and fall reduced the amount of feed available for livestock in the winter of 2008 and spring of 2009. The Manitoba Livestock Feed Assistance Program helps address the financial impact of the shortage of feed supplies.

Why has a new area been added to the program?
The original program was designed to assist livestock producers in 14 Rural Municipalities (R.M.s) in the Interlake/Westlake region where widespread losses in forage production occurred due to excess moisture in 2008.  A small number of producers in some areas adjoining this region, however, also suffered losses associated with the same event. These changes provide a way for producers in nine adjacent R.M.s to apply for assistance, provided they had losses that resulted in extraordinary feed purchases for their eligible breeding animals.

What area has been added?
The new area consists of the Rural Municipalities of St. Andrews, Rockwood, Woodlands, Ste. Rose, Ochre River, Dauphin, McCreary, Glenella, and Lakeview.

Who is eligible in the new area?
Producers who suffered forage losses due to excess moisture and purchased extraordinary amounts of feed for their eligible breeding animals (beef cattle, bison, elk, sheep, goats, deer, llamas, and horses kept for meat production or PMU). Producers in the new area who participated in the Manitoba Forage Assistance Program on or before April 30, 2009 are considered to have already met this requirement.

How much will producers with eligible breeding animals in the new area receive?
1) Producers who owned eligible breeding animals in the new area, and who participated in the Manitoba Forage Assistance Program by April 30, 2009, are eligible for the same per-head payment as producers in the original area.  As in the original program, payments are made on the basis of the number of eligible breeding animals as of December 31, 2008.

2) Other producers who leased or owned eligible breeding animals in the new area will be eligible for a payment of up to 70% of their share of extraordinary feed purchases.  They will need to demonstrate extraordinary feed purchases by supplying invoices, as well as details on livestock fed and land under forage or feed production.  If the calculated payment is less than the following minimum per-head amounts, no payment will be made, and payments are subject to the following maximum per-head amounts:

3) A small number of producers who participated in the original MLFAP qualified for prorated payments because they owned eligible breeding animals outside of the original 14 R.M.s, but had forage acres inside the designated area. These producers can receive the greater of their original payment or the payment for which they are eligible under the expanded program.

How do producers apply?
Producers who owned eligible breeding animals inside the original area, or who owned eligible breeding animals in the new area and applied under the Manitoba Forage Assistance Program by April 30, 2009, can apply directly to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) or at their local MAFRI GO office.

Other producers who owned or leased eligible breeding animals in the new area should contact their local MAFRI GO office to enquire about eligibility and obtain assistance in applying.

Completed application forms must be received by June 30, 2009.

Eligibility

 

Designated Area

To qualify for this program, your Eligible Breeding Animals must have been located within the Designated Area as of December 31st, 2008, or if not located in the Designated Area, are subject to prorating based on the percentage of the over winter feed for such animals that is normally sourced from land operated by the Eligible Applicant within the Designated Area, as determined by the Program Administrators:

• the RMs of St. Laurent, Coldwell, Siglunes, Bifrost, Eriksdale, Armstrong, Gimli, Mossey River, Ethelbert, Lawrence, Grahamdale, Fisher, Alonsa, and Mountain South;
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• the First Nations of Peguis, Fisher River, Lake Manitoba, Ebb and Flow, Sandy Bay, Little Saskatchewan, Lake St. Martin, Dauphin River, Kinonjeoshtegon, O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi, Skownan, and Pinaymootang; or
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• Areas of Northern Affairs jurisdiction that are south of Township 38.

Secondary Designated Area

You may also qualify for this program if you owned or leased Eligible Breeding Animals that, as of December 31st, 2008, were located in the Secondary Designated Area:

• the RMs of St. Andrews, Rockwood, Woodlands, Ste. Rose, Ochre River, Dauphin, McCreary, Glenella, and Lakeview.

 

Eligible Applicants

You are eligible for the Manitoba Livestock Feed Assistance Program if:

• you are an individual 18 years of age or older at the time of application, a partnership (with all partners being 18 years of age or older at the time of application), corporation, cooperative or commune; and
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• As of December 31st, 2008, you:
  • owned Eligible Breeding Animals; or
  • leased Eligible Breeding Animals in the Secondary Designated Area that were not owned by a qualifying participant of the Manitoba Forage Assistance Program (MFAP); and
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• under the Income Tax Act (Manitoba), you are liable to pay Manitoba income tax, or you are a permanent resident of Manitoba and are specifically exempted from paying income tax.

Notes:

• Research stations and other government funded agencies are not eligible.

 

Eligible Breeding Animals

Eligible Breeding Animals means the total number of animals that are:

• beef cattle, bison, elk, sheep, goats, deer, llamas, or horses bred solely for production of meat or pregnant mare urine; and
• female animals bred to produce offspring in 2009, and breeding males. The number of eligible breeding males is limited by a ratio of females to males (rounded up to the next whole number), as outlined below:

Note: Horses kept for any other purpose than listed above, and dairy cattle, are not eligible.

 

Payments

There is no cost to livestock producers for this program. Under the AgriRecovery framework, the costs of the Manitoba Livestock Feed Assistance Program are shared by the Government of Canada (60%) and the Manitoba Government (40%).

Subject to provisions outlined in the Program's Terms & Conditions, this program will pay an Eligible Applicant the greater of the following:

• 1. Full Payment: i) Your share of Eligible Breeding Animals owned as of December 31st, 2008 and located in the Designated Area, and ii) if you qualified as an MFAP participant as of April 30th, 2009, your share of Eligible Breeding Animals located in the Secondary Designated Area, multiplied by the following per-head amounts:

• 2. Prorated Payment: Your share of Eligible Breeding Animals owned as of December 31st, 2008 and located anywhere in Manitoba, prorated based on the percentage of over-winter feed for such animals that is normally sourced from land operated within the Designated Area, multiplied by the per-head amounts in the above table; or
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• 3. 70% Payment for Purchased Feed: If you owned or leased Eligible Breeding Animals located in the Secondary Designated Area as of December 31st, 2008, up to 70% of the Extraordinary Winter Feed Cost for your share of such animals. If the calculated payment amount is less than the following minimum per-head amount based on the number of Eligible Breeding Animals, no payment will be made, nor will payment exceed a maximum per-head amount, as defined in the following table:

General Payment Notes:

• Program payments cannot be assigned or deferred to a subsequent tax year.
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• Tax information slips required under the Income Tax Act (Canada) will be issued in the name of the Eligible Applicant.
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• Program payments will be considered allowable income for the purposes of the AgriStability program in the program year only. Program payments will not be considered allowable income for calculation of reference margins.
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• Program payments will not be considered allowable revenue for the purposes of the AgriInvest program.

Application & Deadline

Eligible Applicants are required to submit a completed application by mail, fax, or delivered to their local MASC office or MAFRI GO office by June 30th, 2009. Application forms (in PDF format, below) can be downloaded for printing. Mailed applications must be postmarked by the application deadline.

Note:

• If your application only concerns Eligible Breeding Animals you owned within the Designated Area as of December 31st, 2008, you are only required to submit the main application form. For all other instances, contact your local MAFRI representative to complete a supplementary worksheet.
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• Where the owner of the Eligible Breeding Animals has a lease agreement for such things as feeding and boarding, the application for this Program must be made in the name of the livestock owner, except for applications for payments for Extraordinary Winter Feed Cost, in which case the lessee can also apply. The applicant must also disclose the name of the other producer involved with the ownership or care of these animals.

Application Downloads

This program is no longer accepting new applicants.