Agriculture spending saw a 7.5-per-cent increase in the 2016-17 budget along with an early end to the incentives for the Agricultural Crown Land Sale Program.
“I’ll just fall short of saying Christmas came early,” said Norm Hall, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan. “All the programs are fully funded. In fact, I’ve seen increases. There’s always places to see improvements, but right now, we’re happy.”
The Ministry of Agriculture’s budget increased to $780.3 million, up from $721.6 million last year.
“We got 7.5 per cent in ag, of course largely due the programs like AgriStability and Crop Insurance that are up because of increased projected prices and yields that drives the cost of the programs up,” said Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart.
The $59-million increase reflects increased crop insurance liabilities as well as higher Agricultural Crown Land Sale Program purchase incentives.
The 2015 Agricultural Crown Land Sale Program provided an opportunity for farmers and ranchers who were leasing land from the government to purchase it.
The Crown land included in these sales was grazing, cultivated and hay land deemed to have no public and low environmental benefit. The program was similar to the Agricultural Crown Land Sale Program that ran from 2008 to 2014.
The program has still allowed for lessees to continue renting Crown land, however the rate was increased by 15 per cent for 2016 and another 15 per cent for 2017.
The purchase program came into affect on Nov. 4, 2015 with Phase 1 running until March 31. It provided a 15-per-cent discount on land purchases. The program is currently in its second phase, which runs until the end of this year and provides a 10-per-cent discount.
Source : Leaderpost