Alberta’s bid to stabilize its public-sector revenue and spending will include slight cuts to its farm programs budget, plus an increase in provincial fuel tax from which farmers won’t be exempt.
Finance Minister Robin Campbell on Thursday released a 2015-16 budget that pegs expenses for Alberta’s agriculture and rural development department at $931 million, down $16 million, or 1.6 per cent, from 2014-15 after adjusting its forecast for in-year disaster/emergency funding of $109 million.
The province, repeating last year’s overview word for word, said its budget for the ag department “supports ongoing efforts to expand existing and open new markets for Alberta’s agricultural products, ensure food safety and animal health, and encourage rural economic development.”
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Agricultural insurance, farm lending and income support programs, delivered mainly through the province’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp., are “maintained,” the province said.
The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA), the province’s meat and livestock market development and product development agency, gets a $32 million budget for the year, down about six per cent from 2014-15.
Farm fuel
Among the tax and fee hikes laid out in Campbell’s budget, the provincial fuel tax increased effective Friday morning to 13 cents per litre, up from nine.
However, the province’s Farm Fuel Benefit, which exempted farmers from the nine-cent-per-litre tax on both gasoline and diesel, will stay capped at nine cents per litre.
Capping the tax exemptions for marked fuel under both the Farm Fuel Benefit and the province’s Tax Exempt Fuel User program is expected to provide another $120 million in fuel tax revenue in 2015-16, the province said.
Meanwhile, propane and aviation fuel used for farming operations in Alberta will continue to be “fully exempt” from the fuel tax, the province said. Tax on propane for non-farming uses will increase to 9.4 cents per litre, up 2.9 cents.
Among other budget measures, the province said it will slow the pace of its regional land-use planning program, a move it said “will help contributors manage their participation and focus resources on current plans.”
Moving back work on the Lower Peace Regional Plan, for example, is expected to save $3 million, the province said.
“Downside risk”
In its budget projections for Alberta’s agriculture sector, the province noted crop prices slipped in 2014-15 and market conditions have “shifted in favour of the livestock industry.”
Cattle producers, the province said, “will continue to reap the benefits of higher prices, as the cattle stock in North America has fallen to a near multi‐decade low. Prices are expected to remain strong in 2015, which should support higher production in Alberta.”
The economic impact of the recent BSE case in Alberta is expected to be “limited,” the province said, as countries now restricting beef imports represent just four per cent of Alberta’s total market.
“The largest markets for Alberta beef remain open, including the U.S. and Mexico, although the possibility of further restrictions presents a downside risk.” — AGCanada.com Network
