The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association has asked the federal government to implement tax deferrals for producers forced to sell livestock due to dry conditions.
President Doug Gillespie said today that recent rain has improved pasture conditions in some places, but it came too late for many hay crops.
“Livestock producers in several areas across Saskatchewan are reporting hay yields that are from 50 percent to 70 percent below normal, as well as poor growth on pastures,” he said.
“As a result, many producers could be forced to sell portions of their breeding herds.”
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Hay is already in short supply, and prices are running at record high levels. Alfalfa-brome bales on the province’s feed and forage service are listed at $200 per ton.
Tax deferrals have been implemented in the past. The federal government designates the eligible rural municipalities, and producers in those RMs can then defer part of the tax due on the sale of breeding animals to the following year.
This allows them to retain some cash to rebuild their herds.
Gillespie said the opening of 90,000 acres of provincial fish and wildlife development fund land for grazing and changes to crop insurance to use crops for greenfeed were welcome developments at the provincial level.
“We believe that implementing the livestock tax deferral provision will help ease the financial pain for producers that are selling into a depressed market for bred cows,” he said.
karen.briere@producer.com
