Farm fuel prices rose by about 30 per cent in the 12-month period ending Jan. 31.

Farmers concerned as cost of production soars

Consumer price index increases to 5.1 per cent in January from 4.8 per cent in December; fertilizer jump particularly high

Glacier FarmMedia – Canada’s cost of living continues to rise, reaching levels not seen since the early 1990s. Statistics Canada recently calculated the country’s year-over-year consumer price index for January at 5.1 per cent, up from 4.8 per cent a month earlier. The January rate, the country’s highest since 1991, prompted prompted the Canadian Taxpayers […] Read more

Dirk Boogerd is president of the Oxford Federation of Agriculture.

Oxford County stands apart for tax ratio review

Committee recommends decreasing ratio for second year running

For the second year in a row, Oxford County is poised to scale back its farm tax ratio – something other rural Ontario municipalities have not done, despite pressure from agricultural lobby organizations. Why it matters: Farmers have seen double digit increases in their tax bills due to the most recent round of MPAC evaluations, […] Read more

Farmer ready to cut woodlots to pay carbon tax

Farmer ready to cut woodlots to pay carbon tax

Government needs to pay for carbon sinks like woodlots and crops, he says

A Lambton County farmer, a winner of environmental awards, says he is ready to rip out his woodlots to help pay for carbon taxes on his farm. Joe Kerr, his wife and their company own about 1,800 acres, about 365 of which is woodlot. He doesn’t expect to clear it all, because it wouldn’t make […] Read more

File photo of young plants in a soybean field in Argentina. (Gracieross/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentine soybeans facing tax increases

MarketsFarm — Not many major divergences can be seen between the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s data (USDA) on Argentina’s soybean crop and data from the department’s attaché in Buenos Aires. What may bring changes to the country’s soybean industry are tax increases imposed by the new federal government, according to Benjamin Boroughs, the USDA attaché. […] Read more

Farm acquisitions can be more challenging tax-wise than succession plans.

Accessing Ontario’s small business tax rate

Both passive and active income can change your tax rate, which can be a surprise for some farms

Farms are typically small businesses entitled to the small business tax rate each year. But farm finance experts say even relatively small farms can lose access to small business tax rates through several means. Why it matters: Under current rules, even small farms can lose access to small business tax rate in some circumstances. As […] Read more


Photo: File

Livestock producers receive tax relief for 2019

Drought in Western Canada and Quebec has prompted the federal government to release an initial list of regions eligible for livestock tax deferrals. The livestock tax deferral provision allows livestock producers in prescribed drought, flood or excess moisture regions to defer a portion of their 2019 sale proceeds of breeding livestock until 2020 to help […] Read more

OFA responds to Middlesex tax change rejection

Letter to the Editor: The county continued to support further tax burden shift to farmer

Dear Editor: The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has serious concerns with the recent comments made by Middlesex County Warden Kurtis Smith in the March 27th London Free Press article, ‘Middlesex County rejects farmers’ bid for lower tax ratio’ by Jonathan Juha. Warden Smith’s comments clearly indicate Middlesex County’s lack of understanding of Ontario’s property […] Read more

Ontario’s Land Transfer Tax is a significant added expense for farmers looking to expand.

Succession can be taxing if some land ownership isn’t considered

Does your succession strategy account for Land Transfer Tax? If not the repercussions could be costly

When it comes to transferring land, handing the farm to the next generation can be expensive. Ontario’s Land Transfer Tax (LTT), more specifically, can take a significant bite out of a family’s farm succession finances if an exemption can’t be achieved. Consequently, it’s important for farmers to know when LTT applies — and how to […] Read more


Dirk Boogerd, president of the Oxford County Federation of Agriculture, says local farmer support helped push a reduction in farm taxes in the county.

Tracking farm tax reductions

Why have some counties managed to get farm tax rate reductions, while others have not?

Ontario farmers are starting to get tax relief from the massive increases in the value of their land, but the amount of tax relief varies. The reduction of the farm tax rate below the long-term rate of 25 per cent of the residential rate, has to be changed at county councils. Local federations of agricultures […] Read more

KAP president Dan Mazier.  Photo: File/Shannon VanRaes

Keystone Agricultural Producers defends cash ticket deferrals

Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers has joined other farm groups in calling on the federal government to keep a regulation that allows farmers to defer grain sales into the following year for tax purposes. The government announced in its recent budget that it is considering eliminating grain ticket deferrals because it is a left over from […] Read more