Flooded out cattle producers in Manitoba will be allowed to defer taxes on livestock sales this year, the federal government announced today.
“The spring of 2011 was very difficult for our farmers due to the destructive flooding on both Lake Manitoba and Shoal Lake,” agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said in a statement.
“The tax relief offered by the program will allow livestock owners to use savings to restock their herds in the spring.”
Record water levels in Lake Manitoba this spring and summer have flooded thousands of acres of pasture and hay land surrounding the lake, which forced livestock producers to move cattle inland or relocate them to pastures in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Eligible municipalities are mostly around Lake Manitoba and Shoal Lake, which is located northwest of Winnipeg.
If a breeding herd was reduced by 15 to 30 percent because of lack of pasture or feed this summer, 30 percent of net sales income can be deferred for one year. If more than 30 percent of the breeding herd was sold, 90 percent of income from net sales can be deferred.
The program applies to the rural municipalities of Coldwell, Dauphin, Eriksdale, Glenella, Lakeview, Lawrence, McCreary, Mossey River, Ochre River, Portage la Prairie, St. Laurent, Ste. Rose, Siglunes, Westbourne, Woodlands, the Local Government Districts of Alonsa and Grahamdale and Division 18, East Part, Division 18, West Part and Division 19.
For more information, please www.agr.gc.ca/drought.
