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Consultation on Income Tax Deferral for Grain Cash Tickets

The 2017 Federal Budget announced that the income tax rule providing a deferral in respect of deferred cash purchase tickets issued for deliveries of certain grains is undergoing a public consultation regarding the ongoing utility of this income tax deferral.

When a farmer delivers a listed grain (i.e., wheat, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed, rapeseed or canola) to the operator of a licensed elevator, the operator may issue to the farmer a cash purchase ticket or other prescribed form of settlement. If the cash purchase ticket (or other prescribed form of settlement) in respect of a delivery of a listed grain is payable in the year following the year in which the grain is delivered (a “deferred cash purchase ticket”), the taxpayer includes the amount of the ticket in income in that following year. The treatment of deferred cash purchase tickets that are issued in respect of deliveries of listed grains is a departure from the general rule with respect to taxpayers (including other farmers) who are required to include the amount of a security or other evidence of indebtedness received as payment of a currently-payable debt in income in the year in which it is received.

The historical rationale for the tax deferral for cash purchase tickets in respect of listed grains relates to international grain shipment agreements and the Canadian Wheat Board’s former position as the sole purchaser of listed grain in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. With the deregulation of the grain marketing regime and commercialization of the Canadian Wheat Board, the delivery of the listed grains is now the responsibility of private business rather than the federal government. As a result, there is arguably no longer a clear policy rationale for maintaining the tax deferral accorded to deferred cash purchase tickets received as payment for listed grains.

Budget 2017 launches a consultation on the income tax deferral available in respect of deferred cash purchase tickets for deliveries of listed grains. Stakeholders are invited to provide comments on the ongoing utility, and potential elimination, of this tax deferral, including any appropriate transitional period or rules.

The government invites interested parties to submit comments by May 24, 2017. Please send your comments to consultation_tax_2017@canada.ca. The 2017 Federal Budget announced that the income tax rule providing a deferral in respect of deferred cash purchase tickets issued for deliveries of certain grains is undergoing a public consultation regarding the ongoing utility of this income tax deferral.

 

Friday Funny – Travelling with Kids

I am leaving this morning to Calgary with my youngest and some extra kids for a gymnastics competition.  18 hours in 3 days will be spent driving.  I already got a text the oldest telling me the youngest has forgot her favourite stuffed animal.  I anticipate those 18 hours feeling like 18 years!

P.S. – The office will be closed this afternoon!  Have a great weekend.

Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada Insect Surveys 2017

Insect Pest Surveys in Crops in 2017

Each year, entomologists from AAFC Research Centres collaborate with extension agrologists, crop specialists and industry groups to conduct insect pest surveys in field crops throughout the prairie region.   I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your tremendous support of the provincial insect monitoring programs in the past and we hope that you will be equally supportive in 2017.

 

Pest surveys furnish valuable information as to what insect pest species are present at different times of the year, and also provide an estimate of their density within different crops.  Producers, provincial agricultural representatives and industry groups are provided with advance warning of potential pest problems through well-run insect pest monitoring programs.  From a research perspective, survey results help to guide our research efforts on integrated insect pest management.

 

In 2017, our plans are to conduct organized surveys of a number of different insect pests. In most cases, the protocols require survey locations to be selected at random, making it very difficult to predict exactly where and when surveyors will be in a specific area.  Most of the survey protocols require that the surveyor enters selected fields to visually inspect plants or to take sweep samples with a standard insect net.  Other protocols may require that the surveyor enters selected fields to take random plant or soil samples.  Our surveyors will be driving vehicles clearly marked with the Government of Canada logo and will be carrying photo-ID cards.  We do not trespass on lands that are posted or have been restricted by owners and do not drive onto fields, only entering on foot.  Surveyors wear disposable booties that are changed after each survey stop. If, during the surveys, you wish to obtain further clarification or wish to be provided with a report on the insect pests found at specific sites, our field staff would be more than pleased to discuss the results of their finding with you or please feel free to contact me at the address above.

 

Survey protocols along with weekly updates from the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network are posted on the PPMN blog http://prairiepestmonitoring.blogspot.ca/.  Automatic emails of the weekly update can be received by subscribing to the blog.  Survey protocols and weekly updates are also available on the WFPM website: http://www.westernforum.org/IPMNProtocols.html .

 

In order to give you a sense of the insect monitoring activities planned for 2017, we have provided brief examples of what to expect from some of the different surveys:

 

Cabbage seedpod weevil in canola.  This pest was first discovered in southwest Saskatchewan in 2000.  The objective is to determine the extent to which this pest has spread from the original infestation area in southern Alberta. Field staff will be surveying much of the province, during the flowering stage and will be taking sweep samples in canola fields.

 

Leafhoppers in canola. This pest carries the plant disease called Aster Yellows, a disease that has become more common in canola in recent years.  The objective is to determine the extent and severity of leafhopper populations and their level of infectivity.  Field staff will be surveying, primarily in the central and northern agricultural areas, prior to the flowering stage and will be taking sweep samples in canola fields.

 

Bertha armyworm and Diamondback moth in canola. Advance warning of these two pests are provided by the pheromone traps that have been set out by cooperators across the province to monitor the arrival of adults in canola.  Once adult female moths have laid eggs in canola, the objective is to determine the extent and severity of larval populations in the crop. In this instance, field staff will be surveying during the flowering and pod development stage and will be visually counting larvae in the field.

 

Wheat midge in wheat.  There are two life stages of the wheat midge that are monitored, the adult and the larval cocoon.  The objective of the adult survey is to assess population density in the crop during the susceptible period, from head emergence to flowering.  Field staff may be surveying in many regions of the province, during late June and early July, and will be entering fields late in the evenings to visually inspect wheat plants.  The objective of the larval cocoon survey is to determine the extent and severity of midge populations in wheat. Field staff will be surveying in late fall throughout the province and will be entering fields after harvest to take small soil cores.

 

Grasshoppers in field crops and pastures.  The objective of the adult grasshopper survey is to determine the extent and severity of grasshopper populations in field crops and pastures.  Field staff will be surveying in early fall and will be entering ditches, fields and pastures to visually estimate grasshopper numbers over an 100m transect.

 

Pea Leaf Weevil. Recently, pea leaf weevil has begun to cause economic yield losses to field peas in Alberta, and it has been also been recorded in southwest Saskatchewan.  This small weevil notches field pea leaves, decreasing production. Plans are to sweep pea fields in June and July to verify its status.

 

Swede midge & Cereal Leaf Beetle.  Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced that adult Swede midge, confirmed in Saskatchewan in 2007, was recorded again in 2009.  Swede midge is native to Europe and Asia, is a pest of plants in the Cruciferae family including vegetable crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) and oilseed crops (canola).  Also a new record for Saskatchewan, CFIA announced that Cereal leaf beetle, a pest of cereal crops, was found in 2008.

 

Learn more by downloading the Map overview 2017

Ratepayer’s Supper April 4, 2017

I’m BACK!

After a few months of webpage trouble, that resulted in this great new look – I am finally able to log in and keep you all updated on the happenings in the RM world.

This is just in time to announce that tomorrow is our Annual Ratepayer’s Supper.  We will hear from Cal Knowles, Emergency Measures Officer and Chris Paradis from Prairie Coop.  Tickets are $12 – so find your Councillor if they haven’t found you yet!

Nikki

 

Snow Plow Safety

Reminder – we have adopted a new blue and amber light combination for snow removal equipment. 

The blue lights will make snow removal equipment more visible while clearing snow. This will allow motorists to distinguish between snowplows, graders, and snow blowers and other flashing lights on our highways.  This will ultimately add to the safety of our operators and those on the road. Previously, our equipment used only amber lights.  

We encourage everyone to spread the word to their friends and family about this new blue and amber combination, as well as how to safely navigate when there is snow removal equipment on the road. Stay back and stay safe. It is illegal to pass a snow plow in operation at a speed greater than 60 km/h. If you come up behind a snow plow and want to pass, remember that it will pull over every 10 km or when it is safe to do so.

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE

CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE – HOW HUNTERS CAN HELP

To maintain the health of Saskatchewan’s wildlife population, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) is encouraging hunters to submit heads for Saskatchewan’s Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing this hunting season.

CWD is a disease that affects the nervous system of deer, elk and moose, and while infected animals may appear healthy for more than a year before signs appear, it is a fatal disease for these animals.

Although there is no evidence of CWD impacts on humans at this time, the potential is uncertain. The World Health Organization, Health Canada and Ministry of Health recommend hunters not eat any animals known to be infected with CWD, and as such the need for testing is imperative. Hunters should also take precautions when field dressing and processing animals.

“This disease isn’t something that hunters can easily detect in an animal themselves,” says SWF Executive Director Darrell Crabbe. “They need to submit the heads for testing, and we can’t stress enough the importance of this, as this disease will have permanent and devastating effects on our wildlife.”

To help encourage hunters to participate in CWD testing, the SWF will offer a draw for six pairs of binoculars. Simply turn in heads to any Ministry of Environment field office and your name will be entered into the draw.

Hunters can help slow the spread of CWD by not introducing the disease to new areas of the province by leaving gut piles on site and properly dispose of carcasses and meat from CWD-infected animals.

This disease has the potential to change herd structure across the province. By helping to monitor for CWD, hunters will help maintain the health of Saskatchewan’s wildlife population for generations to come.

For a listing of field offices,

visit http://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/directory?tab=browse&ou=%7bCEFCDC1B-D7CA-4E50-ABA3-1EE557C5F2D7%7d,

and for more information on CWD,

visit www.swf.sk.ca/resources/for-hunters/chronic-wasting-disease-cwd.

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For more information, contact:

Darrell Crabbe, SWF Executive Director

(306) 692-8812 or cell (306) 630-8780

Election Results

With a great turn out of 313 voters yesterday at the Municipal election, we are pleased to welcome our new and returning Council members to the boardroom table:

Reeve – Ray Orb

Councillor Division #1 – David Mills

Councillor Division #3 – Daryl Frank

Councillor Division #5 – Greg Ermel

The RM of Cupar would like to thank all the candidates who took an interest in running for Municipal government.

RE: Carbon Pricing

SARM Upate on Carbon Pricing:

Carbon Pricing

Yesterday, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that all provinces must have a carbon pricing in place by 2018. Provinces can choose between two options: a direct price on carbon or implement a cap-and-trade system.

In a September 26 media release, SARM stated we are apprehensive of an approach to reducing greenhouse gases that does not consider the unique situation of various industries in each province and that we are opposed a federally imposed price on carbon that is not created through consultation or meaningful discussion with stakeholders.

President Orb also spoke about this issue on BNN. Watch President Orb discuss the negative consequences of carbon pricing on the ag sector and economy overall.