A new year marks another year closer to the next set of agriculture policy framework, which is due in 2018.

The provincial government says it's met with stakeholders to see how it can enhance programs in the current Growing Forward Two. But Opposition agriculture critic Blaine Pedersen says it's a little early to be looking at Growing Forward Three.

"The short term is that there is an election coming within 130-some days here, so we need to be ready for that. There's a new federal government and we need to understand where the federal government is on Growing Forward Three," he says, "there's lots of points to debate in there, but until we better understand where the federal government is coming from, at this point it's a little early to say anything."

The new year could also mark a change in ownership at the Port of Churchill, as OmniTrax is working to sell its Manitoba assets to a group of interested First Nations in Northern Manitoba.

Pedersen thinks the government does have a role to play in the transaction, but perhaps in terms of regulations rather than funding. He says producers are impacted by what happens with the port, but overall there are more transportation issues with getting grain up north.

"I was told about grain being hauled from The Pas area down to Swan River to be cleaned, and then hauled back up to The Pas using an auger to unload trucks into railcars," he says. "We're missing the key loading facilities in order to get this grain on the track in order to get it to Churchill."

Looking to the new year, Pedersen also plans to continue working on water management in Manitoba, with focus on local water projects.