OTTAWA (Staff) – After at first saying “no”, agriculture minister Ralph Goodale now is wavering over whether some forage acreage should be eligible for a share of the $1.6 billion Crow Benefit buyout.
He said last week he is not changing his mind that forage in general is not an eligible crop.
However, he said some farmers have made the argument that in their rotation, forage plays the same role as summerfallow, which is eligible to be counted in the payment acreage.
Government officials are considering that argument, he said.
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“This is not a question of principle,” Goodale told a Commons committee studying the implications of loss of the Crow Benefit subsidy Aug. 1.
“It’s a question of appropriate application of limited funds.”
In a later interview, Goodale said a decision to recognize some forage acreage would complicate administration of the program.
Officials would have to figure out which forage really was part of the rotation and which was simply a crop planted earlier as a way to reduce dependence on wheat or as an independent cash crop.
“A key question would be where to draw the line,” he said. “I don’t anticipate a lot of acreage but we are considering the argument now to see if it is a fair one.”
A decision is expected soon.
