Update: Agricultural Disaster in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9
At the Special Council Meeting on August 8, 2023, Council declared the MD of Pincher Creek a Municipal Agricultural Disaster.
Administration notified the Government of Canada, Province of Alberta and the Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) of the declaration.
The MD of Pincher Creek acknowledges our agricultural industry's crucial role in our community.
Below is the response letter and links to current ag programs that are available. This letter is from Liz Foster, Assistant Deputy Minister, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. This response is following the letter from Honourable RJ Sigurdson Minister, Agriculture and Irrigation.
Livestock Tax Deferral Information
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Dear Reeve Lemire:
I am writing in response to your letter co-addressed to the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay and the Honourable RJ Sigurdson regarding the impact of drought on crops, feed availability and producers in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9. Please be assured that your concerns have been brought to the Minister’s attention.
The Minister and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) are aware of the challenges and uncertainty that producers are facing, and we appreciate the commitment and efforts of farmers during these difficult times. The Government of Canada is determined to ensure programs are adequately responding to the situation.
Federal, provincial and territorial governments offer a suite of core business risk management (BRM) programs to help producers manage severe risks to their farm income, such as when disasters occur. These programs include AgriStability, AgriInvest and AgriInsurance. Governments agree that producers should proactively manage their risks by taking full advantage of the support available through these programs and encourage producers across Canada to participate.
The Government of Alberta and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are allowing for late participation in the AgriStability program, recognizing that wildfires and extremely dry conditions have affected many farmers and ranchers since the April 30 enrolment deadline. Alberta producers can sign up for the program until September 29, 2023. Payments to those who sign up through late participation will be reduced by 20 percent to encourage proactive enrolment.
For 2023, crop insurance in Alberta is doubling the low-yield threshold to allow for additional cereal or pulse crops to be salvaged for livestock feed. The low-yield allowance is meant for situations, such as extreme heat and severe drought, where crops may not be of value in harvesting for grain. This adjustment enables producers to act swiftly to salvage crops for livestock feed rather than watch their fields deteriorate further and risk harvesting nothing. Producers are encouraged to contact the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) for details.
AgriRecovery is a disaster relief framework, under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, intended to work together with the core BRM programs to help farmers recover from natural disasters. AgriRecovery cannot duplicate or replace the assistance provided by the core BRM programs; rather, it is focused on extraordinary costs producers face to recover from disasters in excess of the BRM supports available. Departmental officials are working closely with their provincial counterparts to complete this assessment as quickly as possible.
On August 21, 2023, Minister MacAulay announced the initial list of Livestock Tax Deferral (LTD) designated regions in Alberta, as well as in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The list is available on AAFC’s 2023 Livestock Tax Deferral webpage. Departmental agroclimate specialists will continue to monitor conditions relative to the LTD criteria throughout the growing season, and additional designated regions will be added if they meet the criteria.
The LTD is a provision under the Income Tax Act that provides a taxable benefit to producers. Drought and excess moisture conditions are evaluated using defined geopolitical boundaries within a province and forage yields are required to be less than 50 percent of the long-term average yield.
Please be assured that AAFC is considering program responses to ensure producers have the tools they need to manage this season’s challenges. I trust that this information will be of assistance. Thank you for writing on this matter.
Sincerely,
Liz Foster
Assistant Deputy Minister
Letter
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