Damien Kurek, MP July 26, 2021 @ 12:39 pm published July 27, 2021 @ 11:05 am
Regarding the current crop situation in Alberta:
While I am still advocating for additional and responsive supports to assist agricultural producers with the devastating effects of drought, I wanted to share some of the supports that may already be available to you:
Federal Resources:
o Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC):
o The Livestock Tax Deferral Provision “allows farmers who sell part of their breeding herd due to drought or flooding in prescribed drought or flood regions to defer a portion of sale proceeds to the following year. When prescribed regions are identified, the list is announced publicly and posted to this web page.”
o Agricultural programs and services “support innovation, sustainable farming, business development, managing risk, trade and market development.”
o The AgriInsurance Program “is a federal-provincial-producer cost-shared program that stabilizes a producer's income by minimizing the economic effects of primarily production losses caused by severe but uncontrollable natural hazards.” Drought is included as a possible eligible peril.
o The Canadian Agricultural Loans Act program is a federal loan guarantee initiative. The Lenders guidelines include a list of eligible loan purposes where you will find “Clearing, breaking, irrigating and reclaiming of land.”
o AgPal is described as a “one-stop shop for Canadian farmers and agri-businesses looking for information about agricultural resources, programs, services, market intelligence and research.” There is a database to search programs and services, with filters such as region, commodity and topic.
o The Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) includes both federal programs and programs cost-shared by federal, provincial and territorial governments. In the federally-funded activities and programs, Innovative and Sustainable Growth mentions “helping farmers adapt to climate change, conserve water and soil resources, and grow their businesses sustainably to meet increasing global food demand sustainably.” CAP supports projects cost-shared with Alberta.
o Farm Credit Canada (FCC) provides financing for agriculture, including “Financing for projects that keep your operation sustainable for the future.” The Contact Us web page will provide a local office.
Provincial Resources:
I hope that this information is beneficial to you. If you have any questions or concerns about federal programs, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office at 1.800.665.4358 or by email at Damien.Kurek@parl.gc.ca. For more information on provincial programs, please contact your MLA.