Reading Time: < 1 minute Dr. Jennifer Willans is the recipient of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association’s Meritorious Service Award. This award is presented to an association member who has demonstrated outstanding service to the organization. Service may be over the past year or several years. Dr. Alastair Cribb is the recipient of this year’s Veterinarian of the Year Award. […] Read more
Alberta Veterinary Medical Association award winners
The lowdown on tax filing for farmers
That time of year is coming around again — here are some things to bear in mind as you prepare your tax return
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you raise a few farm animals or have a plot to grow your own food, you are considered a hobby farmer, rather than a business, and you can’t deduct any expenses or losses. But if you devote the majority of your time to farming by investing in buildings, machinery, and inventories to run the […] Read more
Australia dumps ‘backpacker tax’ over farm, export concerns
Sydney | Reuters — Australia on Wednesday walked back from a planned tax hike on foreign travellers who work in the country, following concerns from farmers that their supply of “backpacker labour” at harvest times may dry up and undermine Australia’s ambitions of being Asia’s delicatessen. Australian fruit exports are set to hit a record […] Read more
U.S. COOL rules formally off beef, pork
The U.S. Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has formally patched a long-sore spot in cross-border trade relations by pulling its country-of-origin labelling (COOL) regulations off beef and pork. The AMS, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), published its amendments Wednesday in the U.S. Federal Register. The changes, which took effect upon publication, mean […] Read more
New sheep parasite medication available this spring
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Lamb Producers is welcoming the imminent arrival of a medication to treat a parasite that infects sheep. “Barber pole worm infection is a significant health issue in many Alberta flocks,” Alberta Lamb Producers (ALP) said in a release. “The parasite can cause heavy mortality and production losses, due to anemia in infected sheep. As […] Read more
Australia to hike tax on ‘backpacker’ workers
Sydney | Reuters — Australia is set to increase taxes on foreign travellers who work in the country, raising concerns from farmers that their supply of “backpacker labour” at harvest times may dry up and undermine Australia’s ambitions of being Asia’s delicatessen. Australian fruit exports are set to hit a record A$2.27 billion (C$2.19 billion) […] Read more
Manitoba hunters, ranchers seek rural night-hunting ban
Manitoba’s hunter and rancher groups are calling on the province to tighten its enforcement against night hunting and ban the activity among all hunters in the province’s populated rural areas. The call Tuesday from the Manitoba Wildlife Federation follows a Sept. 10 near-miss in which a couple near Winnipegosis, about 60 km north of Dauphin, […] Read more
More producers eligible for livestock tax deferral
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa has announced additional regions where livestock producers are eligible for tax deferrals. This allows producers who faced feed shortages to defer a portion of their 2015 sale proceeds of breeding livestock until the following year. The cost of replacing the animals in the next year offsets the deferred income, which reduces the producer’s taxes. […] Read more
Oregon refuge searched for evidence, explosives after occupiers leave
Burns, Ore. | Reuters — Police and federal agents searched a U.S. wildlife refuge in Oregon for explosives and evidence on Friday, a day after the last holdouts in a protest over federal control of Western land surrendered to end a six-week armed standoff. Federal authorities said the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon […] Read more
The three common traits of profitable farms
Know your costs for every enterprise, spend money to make money, and never run short of working capital
Reading Time: 2 minutes What makes a farm profitable? “Recently, farm management expert Professor Eric A. DuVuyst of Oklahoma State University shared three traits common to all successful producers, drawing on observations and experience gained from working within five U.S. land grant universities,” said provincial farm management specialist Rick Dehod. “We definitely see these same three common traits in […] Read more