Canada expands livestock tax deferral regions for 2024

Jun 17, 2024

Enhanced support for farmers facing climate challenges

The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, has announced an updated list of regions eligible for the 2024 Livestock Tax Deferral.

This early announcement aims to help farmers affected by severe climate conditions such as drought and excess moisture, providing them with financial stability and planning benefits.

The Livestock Tax Deferral provision is a strategic response to the challenges posed by unpredictable weather, allowing eligible livestock producers to defer income from the forced sale of breeding herds to the next tax year.

This can offset the costs of reacquiring breeding animals, reducing the immediate tax burden.

This year, improvements include the establishment of buffer zones around designated regions. These zones ensure that farms on the periphery, also affected by adverse conditions, can avail themselves of the deferral benefits.

The Canadian government is committed to updating these regions based on ongoing weather, climate, and production data.

The government has streamlined the process to identify eligible regions earlier in the growing season. This allows farmers to make informed decisions about their operations ahead of the critical summer months.

To qualify for this deferral, a farmer must experience a reduction of at least 15% in their breeding herd. Also, regions must demonstrate a fodder shortfall of 50% or more due to drought or excessive moisture to be prescribed for the deferral.

In times of consecutive challenging years, affected producers may defer sales income to the first year a region is no longer prescribed, providing a longer-term relief mechanism.

Beyond the tax deferral, Canadian farmers have access to a suite of Business Risk Management (BRM) programs. These include AgriStability, AgriInsurance, and AgriInvest, which collectively offer a first line of defense against significant operational risks.

Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.