By Angie Rolheiser

Livestock tax deferral areas announced

Jul 23, 2021 | 3:42 PM

MELFORT, Sask. — The early designated areas for the Livestock Tax Deferral provision have been announced.

About 160 Saskatchewan rural municipalities are on the list. More RM’s will be added in the coming weeks according to the federal government.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau made the announcement in Winnipeg Thursday following a tour of a cow/calf operation in the Interlake Region.

“I can’t begin to imagine the stress that producers are going through, watching your pastures and crops dry up and wondering how you’re going to get your animals through the winter,” Bibeau said.

Ottawa will collaborate with provincial governments to gather all the necessary information as fast as possible to provide support under AgriRecovery, Bibeau said.

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This could eventually include direct assistance for the added cost of livestock feed, transportation and water infrastructure.

President of the Manitoba Beef Producers Tyler Fulton accompanied the minister on the tour on Thursday.

“One family that we heard from this week had to disperse their whole herd,” Fulton said. “They told me, can you imagine how it feels to see your years of hard work and love for farming go onto a truck. This is our livelihood. It is heartbreaking.”

Ottawa is offering to raise the AgriStability compensation rate from 70 percent to 80 percent, to provide farmers across the country an additional $75 million per year. Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba rejected the proposal earlier this year, saying it was too costly for smaller provinces with large agricultural land bases.

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angie.rolheiser@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW