Minister announces start of land consolidation program

Ed Byrne, Minister of Natural Resources, announced today the start of the land consolidation program announced earlier this year as part of government�s 2005 budget initiatives. The Department of Natural Resources is now inviting owners of agricultural land or undeveloped land suitable for farming to contact the department if they are interested in selling this land to the province.

�In Budget 2005 we announced that $3.5 million will be invested this year as part of a five-year $17.5 million land program,� said Minister Byrne. �Under this multi-year program, we will enhance the land consolidation program throughout Newfoundland and Labrador and provide assistance to farmers for land development. This represents the largest single increase in government investment in farmland development in recent years.�

Minister Byrne indicated that there are significant growth opportunities in the agriculture sector in Newfoundland and Labrador. Currently, the minister said, a very small percentage of the agriculture goods consumed in this province are produced locally. In fact, only three per cent of beef and 15 per cent of root crops consumed by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are consumed here. Furthermore, as a result of an additional 31 million litres annually in industrial milk quota over the next 10 years, specifically for the production of such dairy products as cheeses and yogurts, there is an opportunity to double the province�s total milk production.

�The availability of suitable farm land is one of the more critical challenges facing the agriculture and agrifoods industry,� said Minister Byrne. �As a government, we recognized that in order to ensure we position this industry to take advantage of the tremendous growth opportunities, farmland had to be made available. The expansion and development of the land base will provide the root crop sector with the means to increase local production and create opportunities to increase the consumption of locally-grown goods. For the dairy sector, it will mean having access to more land for forage production.�

The land consolidation program is designed to provide the opportunity for non-farmer landowners and retiring farmers to sell their granted land to the provincial government. That will allow government to then make this land available to existing commercial farmers, part-time farmers and new entrants who are need of additional lands. A public notice on �Agriculture Land Purchase� will be advertised in the coming days in newspapers. Land purchased will be reallocated through farmland development projects which will be advertised in a public Call for Proposals.

�A significant component of our government�s sustainable resource development strategy includes the agriculture and agrifoods sector,� said Minister Byrne. �We see this as an important renewable resource industry and our commitment is to work with the industry to diversify, grow and enhance this very important economic sector. Of particular importance to this government is the impact the industry has on rural Newfoundland and Labrador.�

Media contact: Carmel Turpin, Communications, (709) 729-5282, 685-4624

2005 08 30                    12:50 p.m.