20131031

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2013

VOL. 91 | NO. 44 | $4.25

Scary? Maybe not GROWING WITH FARMERS FOR 90 YEARS

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WWW.PRODUCER.COM

A WARM FLAPJACK ON A COOL AUTUMN MORNING

FEDERAL LAWS | TAXES

Climate change could impact Prairie farmers

Tax law changes discourage farmers

The next 25 years may see shifts in prairie crops BY ED WHITE WINNIPEG BUREAU

Income Tax Act | New limits on writing off farm losses ‘troubling’

The western Prairies could end up arid like Wyoming and Montana by 2050, while the eastern Prairies could become richer farmland like the northern corn belt. That was a common theme from two weather experts who spoke at the Fields on Wheels conference Oct. 22, which focused on climate change and the grain industry. “If you look about two (U.S.) states directly south of where you are, that’s what you’re most likely to get,” said University of Winnipeg climate researcher Danny Blair in an interview. However, Blair and CWB’s Bruce Burnett had starkly different tones to their presentations, with Blair seeing mostly grave threats to the viability of prairie farming while Burnett emphasized a generally positive future.

BY BARRY WILSON OTTAWA BUREAU

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is warning that governmentproposed Income Tax Act changes will make it more difficult to attract new entrants or outside investment into farming. The federal government is proposing to place new limits on the ability of producers to write off farm losses against income from other sources in c a s e s w h e re o f f - f a r m i n c o m e exceeds on-farm income. The measure is contained in Ottawa’s latest 300 page budget implementation bill tabled in Parliament last week. “This raises a number of concerns for smaller farming operations, which continue to represent the most common entry point into the agricultural industry, as well as the burgeoning interest from non-farming investors in agricultural operations,” the CFA said in a brief to Finance Canada. There has been no indication from the government that it is considering the CFA’s proposed changes, although amendments can be proposed when the legislation is studied at a parliamentary committee. The budget implementation bill contains one piece of good news for established or retiring farmers. It raises the lifetime capital gains exemption from $750,000 to $800,000 and ties that level to inflation so it will rise each year. SEE TAX LAW CHANGES, PAGE 2

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FIELDS ON WHEELS | CLIMATE

SEE CLIMATE CHANGE, PAGE 2

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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv%:% OCTOBER 31, 2013 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4

Shannon Trask checks the bannock she made for lunch during a cattle roundup at the Trask Ranch in the Halfway Valley near Pink Mountain, B.C., Oct. 6-11. The family had nice weather as they worked to round up cattle and prepared them for auction. | JOAN TRASK PHOTO

MEET US ONLINE AT WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/WESTERNPRODUCER | SEE OUR AGRIBITION PHOTO ALBUM Green seeds be gone

Breathing new life into old church

A University of Calgary researcher thinks he has found a way to eliminate one of the biggest downgrading factors for canola. | Page 5

The church in Brock, Sask., sat abandoned for years until it was recently reclaimed for the community. Meet the people who are making it happen — see the video at www. producer.com/section/video and read the story inside. | Page 19

The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240

Bats don’t live up to their scary reputations | P. 36


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