By Cam Lee

Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday, July 28

Jul 28, 2020 | 10:10 AM

The provincial government has launched the Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive (SCFI) program.

The program is designed to help attract new capital investments in large-scale chemical fertilizer production facilities in Saskatchewan, while creating new construction and operational jobs.

The SCFI is a 15 per cent tax credit on capital expenditures valued at $10 million or more for newly constructed or expanded eligible chemical fertilizer production facilities in the province.

“This new Saskatchewan Chemical Fertilizer Incentive makes our strong investment environment even more attractive,” Trade and Export Development Minister Jeremy Harrison said in a news release.

To accommodate projects that have been initiated, the program was effective November 1, 2017, and applications for conditional approval must be received before December 31, 2026, to be eligible.

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Harrison said the program will build on the province’s world class ag and fertilizer sectors, along with helping to diversify and strengthen the industries. He added it will also help grow the economy.

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Weather and climate play a major role in agriculture production throughout Western Canada, and the cropland is vulnerable to weather and climate extremes.

Trevor Hadwen of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) said Western Canada has extremely variable climates from season-to-season, and year-to-year. Drought, heat, high-intensity rainfall, flooding, saturated fields, hail, extreme wind events and frost are all common during the growing season.

These extreme weather events can lead to serious economic impacts for producers. Hadwen said one aspect of the National Agri-Climate Information Services’ mandate is to monitor agri-climate risks, and provide the information to the ag sector to help the industry to adapt and mitigate the impacts.

Daily agroclimate maps, weekly satellite soil moisture maps, monthly drought assessments and monthly agroclimate impact products provide AAFC with the ability to communicate challenges producers may be facing and the risks associated with those impacts.

Though the data the organization gathers is vital, Hadwen says farmer input is needed.

The Agroclimate Impact Reporter tool allows producers and ag specialists to provide AAFC with data on how the weather has impacted them.

That information, along with the other AAFC monitoring products, provides a valuable resource for decision-makers, including policies and departmental programs.