Lake Manitoba Financial Assistance Program (LMFAP) Part B Agricultural Infrastructure, Transportation and Crop/Forage Loss Component Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is the purpose of Part B? The Province of Manitoba has committed to assisting agricultural crop and livestock producers in managing and recovering from the impacts of flooding along the shore of Lake Manitoba in 2011. Program components include: Flood mitigation measures to protect property used for agricultural production; Damage to agricultural infrastructure, improved agricultural land and inventory caused by flood water; Damage to pasture and facilities used to house livestock evacuated from the flood zone; Transportation of livestock away from flooded pastures and transportation of feed to animals that have been displaced; and Damage to crop and improved forage land and lost crop and hay production caused by inundation by flood water. 2. What area is eligible in Part B? Part B includes the Lake Manitoba Flood Zone or areas outside the Flood Zone but inundated by flooding or unable to obtain road access due to the Lake Manitoba flooding in 2011 (see Appendix 1 of the Terms and Conditions). For more detailed maps, contact your local Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) GO Office or Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) Office. 3. What losses are eligible for compensation? Compensation may be provided for flood mitigation measures including gross wages forgone in order to protect Agricultural Land, Agricultural Infrastructure and Agricultural Inventory from flood damage and for subsequent cleanup. Actual expenses incurred for measures taken to protect property from flood damage. Reasonable expenses for cleanup and removal of flood mitigation materials and restoration of impacted property to its original condition. Eligible Participants may be reimbursed for damage to Agricultural Infrastructure, Improved Crop Land, Agricultural Inventory, and personal property kept for the purpose of agricultural production based on reasonable property damage based on restoring Agricultural Infrastructure and Improved Crop Land to pre-flood condition (to a maximum of the April 1, 2011 fair market value of the asset); the cost incurred the first year of establishing perennial crops on Improved Crop Land (to a maximum of the April 1, 2011 fair market value of the asset); the value as of the date of loss of damage due to flooding to Agricultural Inventory and personal property kept for the purpose of Agricultural production; and the actual costs of cleanup. Page 1 of 5
Damage to animal premises caused by eligible animals may be reimbursed for damage to a grazing area, livestock infrastructure and personal property kept for the purpose of agricultural production. The compensation is based on the reasonable cost of repair or replacement, whichever is less. Compensation is limited to the extent that the damage can be reasonably attributed to the degree that housing the evacuated animals caused by exceeding the carrying capacity of the animal premises. Compensation is for the costs incurred to a maximum of the April 1, 2011 fair market value of the asset. Extraordinary transportation costs of eligible animals may be reimbursed for costs incurred to transport feed to eligible animals or eligible animals to feed due to flooding or the risk of flooding of pasture or a confined feeding operation that they owned or leased in the Lake Manitoba Flood Zone. Compensation is receipt based, but is limited to the reasonable transportation based on the number of evacuated animals that they owned or leased; moving the quantity and type of feed required by the animals from April 1, 2011 to the date they no longer owned or leased the animals or May 31, 2012, whichever is earlier. Compensation for transportation will be determined by the Program Administrator and will not exceed 1,000 km each way for animals; 500 km for forage and 250 km for concentrates. Producers who self haul will be eligible for compensation rates similar to rates found in other flood programs such as the Shoal Lakes Agriculture Flooding Assistance Program. Compensation is available if eligible participants suffer reduced crop yield and/or quality due to flooding in 2011 on improved crop land and unimproved hay land located in the Lake Manitoba Flood Zone. Compensation for crop yield loss will be determined by the Program Land claimed under Part A-Lake Manitoba Pasture Flooding Assistance Component is not eligible under Part B. 4. Does compensation for flood mitigation measures include making permanent dikes around fallowed or cropped farm land? No, making permanent dikes around farm land is not covered. 5. Farmers are self-employed are they eligible for lost gross wages? The owner/operator of the farm will be eligible to claim the resident labour rate of $9.50/hour for flood mitigation measures. 6. Who is eligible for payment? An individual agricultural producer who: is a permanent resident of Manitoba, 18 years or older; a partnership, corporation, cooperative, commune or a First Nation. Owned or leased an animal premise used to house evacuated animals during the time period starting on April 1, 2011 ending May 31, 2012, or owned or leased agricultural land or an agricultural business located in Lake Manitoba Flood Zone as of April 1, 2011 (refer to Forecast Flood Zone map is liable to pay income tax under the Income Tax Act (Canada) and the Income Tax Act (Manitoba) or is specifically exempted from filing income tax but is a permanent resident of the Province of Manitoba and cannot be a research station, government funded agency or institution. Lake Manitoba Part B FAQ October 7, 9:30 am Page 2 of 5
7. What about inaccessible overwintering sites? Eligible Participants can receive assistance for the added cost of temporary or custom wintering sites for eligible breeding livestock. Compensation for cattle, bison, and horses (for business purposes only) will be $0.50 per breeding animal for 220 days or $110 per head. The rate for sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas will be $0.10 per breeding animal for 220 days or $22 per head. For additional information, refer to the Program Terms and Conditions. 8. What is the application process? Eligible participants can go to their nearest MAFRI GO Office to complete the Part B: Agricultural Infrastructure, Transportation and Crop/Forage Loss Component Application; at the same time if they haven t already done so, they will need to complete a Claim Registration Form for all their potential claims under the Lake Manitoba Financial Assistance Program (Parts A, B, C, D). Clients also have the option of calling the 2011 Flood Recovery Office at 1-855-220-1822, or going to the office in person. The Flood Recovery Office is located in Portage la Prairie at the Portage Shoppers Mall (west end), 2450 Saskatchewan Avenue West. However, if the client goes to the Flood Recovery Office their application will be forwarded to their closest MAFRI GO Office for final review before it is submitted to the Program Application Forms are to be completed and signed by the Eligible Participant, including a Declaration confirming they have met the conditions of the Program. 9. If I originally applied for Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA), am I eligible for compensation under this program (Part B)? If you have already submitted an application to DFA, your information will automatically be provided to the Program Administrator for Part B and incorporated into this program. You cannot receive compensation from both programs. 10. Will there be inspections/audits? Yes, verifications will be conducted. As part of the terms and conditions applicants give the program administrator the right to do onsite audits. 11. Is there compensation for flooded crop land and if so, what is the amount? Producers with cropland that is inundated and too wet to seed will receive compensation based on a formula that recognizes normal costs of production for agriculture producers. Producers that seed a crop that is inundated will be compensated for the loss of production based on normal crop yields (AgriInsurance Long Term Average Yields and Producer s Individual Productivity Index). 12. Will producers facing future consecutive years of crop failure receive assistance beyond 2011? Page 3 of 5
The program covers crop losses for 2011 only. Future production losses from the 2011 flood will be assessed to determine the appropriate response. 13. Is compensation for flooded hay land acres? Yes, hay land that it is inundated will be compensated for the loss of production. The compensation will be based on the historical production in the Designated Forage Area less any actual yield. 14. Is there restoration assistance for Tame forage that is destroyed by the Flood? Forage fields that are destroyed are eligible for restoration assistance. After assessment on an individual basis, the assistance will be set aside by the Program Administrator and provided to the producer when the restoration activity is undertaken. 15. Is there going to be assistance for feed and transportation in the fall? For eligible Lake Manitoba producers, eligible transportation costs are covered for transporting feed to eligible animals or eligible animals to feed. The deadline for application is May 31, 2012. 16. If a producer has most or all of their pasture flooded and they choose to graze their hay lands, which are not flooded so they can keep their livestock at home, will they be eligible under Part A? Yes they are able to make a pasture claim under Part A, if they meet all the eligibility requirements of the program. The payment they receive is to compensate them for alternate feed which in this case is their grazed hay land. This money can then be used to purchase winter hay supplies to cover their grazed hay production. 17. I have a farmhouse on my property that was damaged, along with my farm infrastructure. Which program component do I apply under to repair or replace my farmhouse, along with the farm infrastructure? Under the Lake Manitoba Financial Assistance Program, you can apply for compensation for damage to your farm infrastructure under Part B. Part B, however, does not cover damage to a principle residence. Any damage to a farmhouse that is your principle residence (i.e. you occupy the home year-round) must be applied for under Part C of the program. 18. Since livestock are considered agricultural inventory, can we claim livestock that were drowned by Lake Manitoba flood waters? No, livestock that have been drowned by Lake Manitoba flood water are not covered under this program. They may be covered under a farm or home insurance policy if the livestock are insured. Livestock are considered agricultural inventory but Part B only covers flood mitigation measures to protect inventory and it does not cover the loss of livestock. If you have lost livestock, take pictures and record any pertinent information that would be needed by your insurance provider. Other insurable agricultural inventory may not be covered by this program which is consistent with the Terms and Conditions (Section 5.7). 19. Is there compensation for bee production losses for both honey and leafcutter bees? Will this compensation cover transportation of bees out of the flood zone? Lake Manitoba Part B FAQ October 7, 9:30 am Page 4 of 5
The program will cover the loss of honey bees at $250/hive and $160/gallon for leafcutter bees that are lost as a direct result of the flood and the associated loss in production for that proportion of bee loss. Bee equipment for honey or leafcutter bees will be compensated at wildlife compensation values. Expenses incurred to transport bees out of the flood zone will also be covered. 20. What about land that is covered by AgriInsurance? Land within the program area that is covered by AgriInsurance will be considered as not insured for 2011 and premiums will be credited back to the client. There will be no impact on their Individual Productivity Indexes in 2011 on these lands. 21. When applying for Lost Agricultural Production in 2011 Growing Season who should apply, the landowner or the tenant? Who applies for Agricultural Property Damage Caused by Flooding assuming that the tenant may not want to lease the land in 2012? If all the eligibility requirements are met under Section 3 of the Program Terms and Conditions, the tenant can apply for lost crop yield. The tenant and landowner should have a current lease agreement; for restoration of the land, the party that does the work and incurs the cost of restoration would apply. Payment is based on receipts and can be submitted after the restoration has taken place. If the tenant defaults on a lease agreement that is a civil issue and the landowner would have to pursue that issue. 22. When is the Program deadline? Eligible Participants are required to open a claim by submitting an Application Form to a MAFRI GO Office or the Flood Recovery Office on or before November 30, 2011. 23. When can payments be expected? Payments will be made once applications are reviewed and assessed by the Program 24. Is there an appeal process? Applicants can appeal decisions to an independent appeal body established by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. For further details contact your local MAFRI GO Office or the Flood Recovery Office. For more information contact: Your local MAFRI GO Office or the 2011 Flood Recovery Office. Page 5 of 5