By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture spending increases in today’s Saskatchewan budget

Mar 22, 2023 | 4:58 PM

MELFORT, Sask. – Saskatchewan producers harvested a crop of nearly 35 million tonnes in 2022 and the province has the second largest cattle inventory in the country.

There is no question that agriculture is a key component of Saskatchewan’s economy.

Agriculture spending announced in today’s provincial budget for 2023 is $548.2 million, which is a 19 per cent increase from the previous year.

Agriculture Minister David Marit said the industry is well-positioned to continue to take on the challenges inherent to agriculture and build on its success.

“This budget will help Saskatchewan’s farmers, ranchers and agri-business remain competitive and operate sustainably while continuing to deliver safe, high-quality food,” Marit said.

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There is $408 million to fund a suite of federal-provincial risk management programs including Crop Insurance and AgriStability.

Average Crop Insurance coverage for 2023 is at a record-high level of $446 per acre ,due to increased commodity prices and yield coverage.

The AgriStability compensation rate will increase from 70 to 80 per cent for the 2023 program year, to better support farmers in times of need.

Included in the agriculture portion of the budget is $89.8 million for initiatives under the federal-provincial Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

Marit said there are some new PST exemptions for vegetable and wild rice producers.

“The rice growers in the northern part of the province, for their boats and equipment, that will be PST exempt. We also heard from the produce sector out in the irrigation district about PST exemption on storage buildings as well,” Marit said. “Those we heard very clear from our stakeholders that was obviously a cost to them.”

The Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association (SCA) applauded the increase in funding for research and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

CEO Grant McLellan said SCA appreciates the commitment to fiscal restraint and a balanced budget.

“When you look at the increases to programs like Farm Ranch Water Infrastructore Program already announced, and no new taxes, this budget does a good job of providing reliable support for our livestock sector,” McLellan said.

The budget provides increased support for producers to develop sustainable agriculture water sources like wells, dugouts and pipelines, as well as increased funding for irrigation programming.

The budget includes $1 million to target invasive weed control on agricultural Crown land pastures and more than $38 million for agricultural research.

The total Municipal Revenue sharing pool was increased from just over $262 million in 2022/23 to $297.9 million in this budget.

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) was pleased with that news.

SARM President Ray Orb said RMs play an important role in the provincial economy.

“More funding is needed so RMs can continue to provide a level of service expected by sectors driving Saskatchewan’s economy including preparing for future growth in the critical minerals sector,” Orb said. “We are hopeful more can be allocated in the near future.”

Orb said SARM appreciates the $412.7 million for the SaskTel 5G and rural fibre network but more needs to be done to reach the goal of broadband infrastructure parity for all Saskatchewan residents regardless of where they live.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW