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Livestock deferral program announcement falls short, says Sask. farm group

Sep 14, 2018 | 5:00 PM

The Federal Government has unveiled the initial list areas to be covered by a livestock tax deferral program this year, but a group representing Saskatchewan cattle producers has said the area is not big enough.
 
In a statement emailed Friday to media, Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan President Todd Lewis said the eligible areas do not include all the affected producers.
 
“Livestock producers in large areas of Saskatchewan are being forced to consider the sale of livestock due to poor pastures, lack of hay and water due to drought,” explained APAS President Todd Lewis in the statement.
 
Lewis also explained eligible areas for the Tax Deferral program that were identified in the announcement do not include regions that clearly suffered from drought over the last two years, particularly in the western and south-eastern areas of Saskatchewan.
 
“The areas in Saskatchewan that have received sufficient moisture do not have enough surplus feed to make up for feed shortages, which seriously restricts the ability of producers to find alternate sources. This is why we had asked Federal Minister MacAulay to declare all Saskatchewan producers eligible for the deferral,” Lewis said.
 
Lewis said he hoped the Federal Department of Agriculture would act promptly to revise their areas of eligibility. The initial list of Rural Municipalities that are eligible for the Livestock Tax Deferral can be found here

 

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