Farm Safety

The winter months may seem slower in the agricultural community, with both fields and producers awaiting the arrival of spring.

However, the reality is slightly different. Potato warehouses continue to maintain a full schedule. Producers use the opportunity to do routine maintenance on their equipment and train staff, so they can hit the ground running when planting time arrives.

The Federation is developing education materials in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture and the Highway Safety Division of the Department of Transportation. The effort is designed to raise awareness in the farm community of safety regulations in the Highway Traffic Act that apply to Agriculture equipment. Particular emphasis will be placed on practices where enforcement agencies have identified issues of non-compliance.

An awareness campaign is being planned to coincide with spring planting that will include advertisements and articles in various media and displays at as many agricultural related venues as possible. Audio/visual material will be made available to various commodity organizations for their use. As well, there will be a web page specific to Farm Safety incorporated into the existing PEI Federation of Agriculture site.

The Canadian Agriculture Safety Association is finalizing plans for its annual launch of Canadian Agriculture Safety Week, which will take place in Manitoba for Western Canada and here on P.E.I. for Eastern Canada. The venue chosen for the Island initiative is Koolbreeze Farms in Travellers Rest on March 8th. The actual dates of the CASW are March 15th – 19th and producers are encouraged to utilize the opportunity to update their operations and staff on safe farm practices.

If anyone has interest in setting up training for any of the following they are asked to contact Tim Seeber at the Federation office at 368-7289 or by email at seebertw@eastlink.ca.

Tractor Safety Training: Depending on demand this can be scheduled for March Break
Fork Lift Training: This training is done on-site and requires a minimum of 4 people
First Aid Training: Available as sufficient interest dictates.

Tax Credits

By Philip Rafuse

Technological advancements could lead to tax credits

Now, more than ever, change is becoming a measure of sustainability for Canadian farms. Whether you are striving to find a genetic breakthrough against potato blight, working to prolong shelf-life through modified atmosphere packaging or developing energy saving harvesting equipment, your problem solving activities could qualify for government assistance.

The Canada Revenue Agency continues to reward tax payers searching for scientific or technological advancements through investment tax credits. Our Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program is considered among the most generous programs of its kind in the world. It is administered by the federal government and contribution levels are governed primarily by the structure of the claimant’s business and its profitability.

SR&ED is an ‘entitlement program’, which means no prior approval is required to qualify. If you have performed SR&ED related activities (as governed by the Tax Act) and incurred expenses to perform them, you are eligible to submit a claim. This is done by completing certain prescribed forms and submitting them with your regular tax return.

The program includes eligibility for direct expenses and a number of indirect expenses that are incurred in support of SR&ED related activities.The program often includes a provincial contribution as well. In most of the Atlantic Provinces, the entitlement includes a 15% tax credit.

Before you begin filling out your SR&ED claim forms, it is important to understand what the program is… and what it isn’t. There are generally two major pitfalls of determining your qualification for SR&ED.

The first is confusing technological advancement with innovation. Although innovation can, and often does, involve SR&ED activities, it could just as easily involve only the application of new technology, not its development. For example, using a wind turbine on your farm is innovative but, in and of itself, this cannot be considered an eligible activity since there is no technological uncertainty or advancement.

A second troublesome assessment is differentiating between routine and experimental development. In most instances it will be decided on the technological uncertainty of the advancement being sought. If your business is organized for continuous product improvement as a normal activity, new products will be considered routine development unless you can demonstrate the existence of a specific technological hurdle that prevented your progress.

Just as you turn to an accountant, lawyer and insurance agent to assist you in your business, you should seek out a SR&ED professional to help you get the most from your claim.

Phillip A. Rafuse, MBA, FCGA is an owner and senior consultant with Pitre, Rafuse & Mulcahy (PRM) Inc. The firm specializes in identifying, quantifying and optimizing SR&ED claims for companies throughout Canada.