More ranchers in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Nova Scotia will be able to defer some of their taxable income from livestock sales in 2016 due to drought. The federal government on Tuesday announced a second list of drought-designated regions where the livestock tax deferral provision will be allowed, along with the areas of […] Read more
Tag Archives drought — page 37

Drought-related livestock tax deferral zones expand

Beef makes the cut as Australia, China move to boost trade
Sydney | Reuters — Australia and China are expected to sign new bilateral agreements on beef exports, energy and security during a four-day visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang that began on Thursday. Li, the first sitting Chinese premier to visit Australia in 11 years, was welcomed to parliament in Canberra by Prime Minister Malcolm […] Read more

Drought-hit tax deferral zones named
Ottawa has seen enough drought in parts of southwestern Alberta, southern and eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec to offer deferrals on their ranchers’ 2016 income tax from breeding livestock sales. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Tuesday released the federal government’s initial list of municipalities designated for the 2016 deferral. In Alberta, those areas include Clearwater, […] Read more
Floods cause deaths, block food aid in drought-hit Ethiopia
Nairobi | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Flash floods in drought-stricken parts of Ethiopia have killed people and livestock and are blocking food aid deliveries to hungry communities, a charity said. Ethiopians have been waiting for the spring rains to replenish water sources and to plant crops after the most severe drought in decades pushed more […] Read more

California communities beg for relief from drought restrictions
Sacramento | Reuters — California communities where a wet winter has filled reservoirs and begun ameliorating the state’s catastrophic four-year drought begged water regulators on Wednesday to reduce or eliminate emergency conservation measures imposed last year. Facing pushback from aggravated consumers under the ongoing rules, water utilities say they will have little credibility asking for […] Read more

California rules led to near 25 per cent cut in water use
Sacramento | Reuters –– Residents and businesses in drought-stricken California cut back water use by nearly 25 per cent from June 2015 through the end of February 2016 — enough to supply nearly six million people for a year, officials said Monday. The state’s first ever mandatory cutbacks in water use were imposed by Democratic […] Read more

Panama Canal sets depth limit on ships due to drought
Panama City | Reuters — The Panama Canal will next month impose new draft restrictions on ships due to falling water levels at nearby lakes that form part of the waterway, the authority that administers the canal said in a statement Monday. Ships seeking to cross the waterway must comply with a maximum depth limit […] Read more

Drought watch kept on Alberta, early spring expected
CNS Canada — Above-average temperatures and limited precipitation could mean parts of the Prairies will struggle with soil moisture heading into the spring, according to one specialist. “The soil moisture that we have in the ground right now is similar to what we went into the winter with,” said Trevor Hadwen, agroclimate specialist with Agriculture […] Read more

Drought-related tax deferral zones expand in West
More livestock producers in the West who had to sell breeding stock due to drought in the 2015 tax year will be able to defer some or most of that income at tax time. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Tuesday announced more designated areas in all four western provinces where producers will be eligible […] Read more

FAO seeks help for drought-ravaged Ethiopia
Rome | Reuters — Ethiopia faces its worst drought in decades, leading the United Nations’ food agency to call on Friday for an emergency cash injection of US$50 million to help the country overcome the crisis. Crop production has fallen up to 90 per cent in some regions and failed completely in the country’s east, […] Read more