Achi news desk-
There are some parts of the newly announced federal budget that some farmers say will help, but in many ways it doesn’t go far enough.
Some farms on Prince Edward Island are still dealing with the costs associated with hurricane Fiona, and many government risk management programs have limits on how often someone can apply and for how much money.
“The time frame between hurricane Dorian and hurricane Fiona was only two years, so you could quickly say, you know, you’re not eligible for those programs anymore,” said Ron Maynard, a fairy farmer for four decades .
He said they needed to be able to adapt to changing weather patterns.
Tax changes are a bit of a mixed bag. The farm is the main source of a farmer’s retirement savings.
An upper limit on tax-free capital gains means more money in farmers’ pockets from that proportion, but higher taxes on money beyond that could have a negative impact.
“Those capital gains, they’re not going to affect this farmer in the planting season, but over the longer term it will affect the value of the farm,” said Donald Killorn, executive director of the PEI Federation of Agriculture. “How much ends up in a farmer’s pocket when it’s time to pass on the farm?”
Another issue for farmers is the carbon tax.
Although diesel used for farming is exempt, farms often use propane or other sources to heat barns or dry grain, which is taxed.
There is a new carbon rebate for small businesses, but it is not yet clear how that will affect farmers.
“The devil is in the details, how much it will involve farmers and whether it amounts to any significant amount is still a question,” said Maynard.
One good thing according to Killorn and Maynard is that the limit on interest-free planting loans from the government has more than doubled. Those are short-term pre-season loans for planting costs, repaid after the crop is sold.
At $250,000, it is now higher than the $200,000 average used by farms across the country.
