OKOTOKS - Livestock producers in Foothills County are eligible for a federal tax deferral due to extreme weather in the region this year.
Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced an initial list of regions in Alberta and other provinces where the Livestock Tax Deferral has been authorized.
The deferral allows farmers who sell part of their breeding herd due to drought or flooding in prescribed regions to defer some income from sales to the following year.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the significant challenges livestock producers in Western Canada are facing due to exceptionally dry conditions,” Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada stated in an Aug. 21 press release.
The agency said it completed its preliminary list of drought or flood regions earlier than usual this year to help producers make herd management decisions
“Compounded by subsequent years of drought, pastures and forage production are significantly impacted, leading to low feed supplies for livestock.”
Eligible regions for the deferral are identified with input from industry and provinces and, due to drought or excess moisture, have forage yields of less than 50 per cent of the long-term average.
Producers who reduce their breeding herd by at least 15 per cent are eligible.
Including Foothills County, 56 Alberta counties are on the initial list of designated regions for the 2023 Livestock Tax Deferral.
This is the third year in a row that producers in Foothills County have been eligible for the deferral, and in cases of consecutive years of drought, producers can defer sales income to the first year the region is no longer a prescribed drought region.
As of July 31, information from the Canadian Drought Monitor classifies the region around Foothills County as experiencing an extreme drought, calling it a one-in-20-year event.
Foothills County declared an agricultural disaster for drought on July 28, and on Aug. 4, the provincial and federal governments announced the reopening of enrollment in the AgriStability program.
