For example, producers who paid $100 in checkoffs to AWC in 2022 would earn $74 in tax credit.

Seventy-four per cent is the highest amount claimable in the history of the program. This is due to the high ratio of research investments made by AWC in relation to the revenue from checkoffs in the 2022 tax year, which were reduced by approximately 40 per cent due to the 2021 drought.

The federal program encourages research and development investment through tax-based incentives, giving claimants tax credits for their expenditures on eligible work. The tax credit percentage is based on the amount invested that meets the criteria laid out by the Canada Revenue Agency.

Farmers should use form T2038 (IND) to claim this credit when filing taxes. Farm corporations must use form T2SCH31.

For more information, visit the CRA website.

The post Wheat producers can claim tax credit on checkoffs appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“Most producers that voted were in favour of the status quo, a refundable service charge model,” Alberta Lamb Producers said on its website. 

Just over 15 per cent of eligible producers voted, with 147 in favour of keeping the refundable service charge model and 105 in favour of making it non-refundable. 

Producers pay the $1.50 service charge when buying Canadian Sheep Identification Program tags. 

The farm group says that it depends entirely on checkoffs for its core operations and services. 

“Industry service charges are very important to a producer group, especially to this relatively small but expanding livestock sector,” it states on its website. 

“We run a very lean operation. There is no fat to cut. Checkoff refunds will reduce services for all producers. If we want the future of the Alberta lamb industry to be sustainable and gain momentum, we all need to support it.” 

Alberta Lamb Producers collected $243,000 in sheep checkoffs in its most recent fiscal year and issued about $48,000 in checkoff refunds.

The post Refundable checkoff for lamb producers stays  appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The Alberta cattle group is refunding about $3 million in checkoffs every year — the vast majority to feedlots — and is running out of ways to deal with the problem, said Brad Dubeau, ABP’s general manager.

“What we ended up seeing since 2009 is that ABP has significantly cut its operating budget,” said Dubeau. “It dipped into its reserves fairly significantly, and has had to, over time, reduce the number of staff.”

Every time a cow is sold in Alberta, $4.50 of the sale price is kept for the checkoff. Of that, $2.50 is non-refundable (that portion supports Canada Beef and the Beef Cattle Research Council). But $2 goes to ABP and about a quarter (53 cents) is passed along to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA).

However, every year refunds are requested on the sale of about 1.6 million head. More than 85 per cent of those refund requests are from feedlots.

In addition to reducing staff numbers and drawing from reserves, ABP has also reduced its funding of smaller organizations, including cutting its financial support for Cows and Fish and AgSafe Alberta in half.

When it comes to the CCA, Alberta Beef Producers is looking at changing the way the current funding formula works. The 53 cents that goes to the national organization is based on what’s collected — with no adjustment for the fact that so much of the money is refunded.

“So currently, we fund CCA on gross marketings — we don’t take into account the refunds,” said Dubeau. “An agreement between the provinces and CCA was developed in 2018 that we would fund 53 cents of every marketing in our province. That number, is unfortunately at times, depending on the refund, difficult for ABP to be able to do, without taking from the reserves.”

That effectively means closer to 90 cents of every $2 checkoff goes to the national organization, Dubeau wrote in his report in the CCA’s most recent annual report.

The organization’s current board of directors (and the previous one) has asked for a new funding arrangement based on the net amount — that is, the sum after the refunds are deducted — when the current funding arrangement ends on July 1, 2023.

“CCA could potentially be looking at a reduction — it could be anywhere from $750,000 to $1 million,” said Dubeau.

In the meantime, his organization is reaching out to other groups — including the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association, the Western Stock Growers’ Association and the Alberta Grazing Leaseholders Association — in hopes of finding some way to reduce the amount of money being refunded.

“We’re making a concerted effort to work together to find a path back to a fully funded Alberta beef industry,” said Dubeau.

Reducing funds for the CCA would be a last resort, he added.

“The board of directors and delegates feel we fully need to fund CCA,” he said. “But we have cut as much as we can to the provincial association, and we still need to be able to do the job we need to do at the provincial level.”

The organization is also upping its efforts to raise awareness of the problem, including running a recent series of articles on its fiscal situation in its magazine.

That seemed to have an impact, Dubeau said.

“We did see dollars going directly to ABP or directly to CCA in the last quarter of our refund period,” he said. “It was really nice to see. It was the first time refunds have gone down in a long time, or they were directed to the organizations.”

The post Alberta’s checkoff woes now poised to hit national organization appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The Scientific Research and Experimental Development Fund (SR&ED) program is based on the percentage of a checkoff that is used for crop research and development — an amount that varies for each crop.

For barley, every $100 in 2021 checkoffs generates a tax credit of $12 while for canola, the tax credit would be $14.59. Wheat, pulse and oats checkoffs are also eligible.

Alberta Canola has more details on the program (such as carry-forward rules and required tax forms) along with a link to Revenue Canada’s web page on the credit.

The post Get a tax credit on checkoffs appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The Central meeting is slated for Jan. 24 in Stony Plain; Northwest on Jan. 26 in Fairview; Northeast on Jan. 27 in Vermilion; Southeast on Feb. 8 in Brooks; and Southwest on Feb. 9 in High River. There will also be a virtual meeting for all zones on Feb. 10.

One topic likely to receive major attention is checkoff refunds. In September, the organization said the high rate of refunds (46 per cent last year) was forcing ABP to make “drastic cuts.” This included ending a $50,000 yearly grant to the Simpson Centre (an agricultural policy research centre) and halving its funding for Cows and Fish, Alberta Farm Animal Care, and AgSafe Alberta.

The post Alberta Beef Producers sets dates for producer meetings appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit allows canola growers to claim the credit for the portion of the checkoff paid that was used to fund qualifying research.

“Farmers are funding research into finding solutions to agronomic issues like clubroot, while being able to capture some of that investment back at tax time,” said Mundare farmer John Mayko, chair of Alberta Canola’s research committee.

The tax credit rate for 2019 is 23.69 per cent. So $1,000 in canola checkoffs means $236.90 is the eligible amount to be earned as the tax credit.

For more information, contact the Canada Revenue Agency or your accountant.

The post Tax credit available for canola checkoffs appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

In a recent plebiscite, 56 producers (82.3 per cent) voted in favour of making the service charge non-refundable. There were 11 opposing votes and one spoiled ballot.

There are about 140 licensed potato growers in the province, cropping about 53,000 acres (mostly processing potatoes) annually. The checkoff is $25 for fresh potatoes, $35 an acre for seed potatoes, and seven cents per hundred pounds for processing potatoes.

The board of the Potato Growers of Alberta has to approve the change to a non-refundable checkoff, but is expected to do so.

The post Alberta potato producers back non-refundable checkoff appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Farmers can learn more about the SR&ED program by visiting the Canada Revenue Agency website.

Credits are also available for producers who paid checkoffs for wheat (21 per cent of the checkoff is eligible), canola (14.32 per cent), pulses (check albertapulse.com) and oats (11.8 per cent).

The post Checkoff tax credits available for farmers appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

In the case of wheat, nine per cent of checkoffs are eligible for a tax credit, which is based on the amount invested in R&D that meets the criteria laid out by the Canada Revenue Agency. AWC’s research investments focus on genetic and agronomic improvements aimed at improving the long-term profitability of Alberta’s wheat producers.

For more info, contact the Canada Revenue Agency, or visit the Canada Revenue Agency website.

The post Tax credits for checkoffs appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The post New, multi-pathogen test being developed for beef cattle appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.