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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1988-07-06, Page 4Farmers Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, July 6,1988—Page 3 welcome proposed tax changes Farmers are going to benefit greatly from the tax changes being proposed by the federal government. The changes - part of the 500 -page Ways and Means Motion recently tabled by Finance Minister Michael Wilson to amend the IncomeTax Act - are the end product of long consultations with the On- tario Federation of Agriculture and other farm organizations. Many of the final pro- visions, in fact, represent a government about-face from the original proposals contained in the White Paper on Tax Reform released last year. Cash accounting, initially targeted for abolition by Finance Canada, is being retained. "This is welcome news for the 90 per cent of Canadian farmers who depend on it. Not only does cash accounting give pro- ducers greater flexibility, it saves them between $300-$1,000 in accountant's fees to start with," said Brigid Pyke, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. Pyke and the OFA led a vigorous nat. •nal lobbying effort to stop the federal move to get rid of cash accounting. Wilson also revealed that the govern- ment will not proceed with either the Pro- fit Test (to distinguish between a farmer and a non -farmer) and the Gross Revenue Test (to distinguish between a full time and a part time farmer) in determining the tax treatment of income tax filers. This is another victory for farm organizations which convinced Finance Canada that the tests would be ineffective and unworkable. The ability of farm tax filers to claim losses against other income has also been adjusted favorably. Farmers for whom farming is a secondary business will be able to claim losses to a maximum of $8,750, up from the current $5,Q00. Full time farmers can claim their total farm losses against other income. The farming community likewise hailed the government announcement extending .the flexible livestock inventory provision to all commodities. As it now stands, the provision allows a farmer to take into in- come this year any amount between zero and the fair market value of his livestock on hand, and subtract that out of income in a subsequent year. With the extension of this provision to all commodities, more farmers will have a flexible mechanism to average income through a number of crop years. To protect the tax system from being us- ed to finance inventory build-up, the government is still going to require a pur- chased inventory adjustment. However, this will only apply to farmers who register losses based on cash accounting. "When you consider that Ottawa, a month and a half ago, also conceded that proceeds from the sale of quota will now qualify for the $500,000 capital gains ex- emption, farmers and their farm organiza- tions have come out of this tax reform ex- ercise with very good results, ' said. OFA president Brigid Pyke. "It clearly demonstrates what organiz- ed, rational, focused farm lobbying can do," she said, "And it also shows that farmers are prepared to give credit to the members of the rural caucus and to the Ministers of Finance and Agriculture who listened. Egg prices are up The price paid to producers for Grade A large eggs in July will increase in all pro- vinces, the Canadian Egg, Marketing Agency (CEMA) announced today. Prices paid to farmers in Newfoundland will increase two cents per dozen, while Nova Scotia egg producers will see prices • rise by four cents per dozen. Prices in all other provinces will in- crease three cern. per dozen. The price increase is mainly due to • higher feed costs. The price for feed throughout Canada has taken a sharp rise because of the severe drought in the western part of the country. CEMA sets the producer price for Grade A large eggs at the beginning of each month using a cost of production formula. The federal government's National Farm Products Marketing Council is ad- vised of the prices before they are announced. In support of 4R's The Ontario Federation of Agriculture has come out in support of a 4R Program to combat the problem of waste manage- ment in the province. Receipts light at the stockyard Due to the Canada Day holiday and heavy supplies of cheaper Western and United States beef, receipts were light at Brussels Stockyards. There was a good de- mand on all classes of cattle which sold steady to $1.00 higher. There were 184 cat- tle and 477 pigs on offer. Choice Steers sold 85.00 to 89,00 with sales to 93.75 while Good Steers sold 82.00 to 85.00. A limousin steer consigned by Bert Elliott of RR 2, Blyth, weighing 1240 lbs. sold for 85.25. Thirty-three steers consigned by the Wheeler feedlot of Brussels averaging 1198 lbs. sold for an overall price of 82.09 and they had sales to 87.50. Good Heifers sold 80.00 to 84,00 with sales to 87.00. Six heifers consigned by Lorne Hackett of RR 3, Lucknow averaging 992 lbs. sold for an average price of 81.65 with sales to 84.25. Seven heifers consigned by Chester Hackett of RR 7, Lucknow averaging 964 lbs. sold for an overall price of 80.28 and he had sales to 82.00. A red heifer consigned by Greg Hackett 01111EZ 1124 --"-s7floyzjoz' PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES 5 Km. East of Lucknow on Hwy. No. 86 OPEN: Monday -Friday 8:00 AM -8:00 PM Saturday 8:00 AM -5:00 PM Weather & Crop Permitting 528-2900 No Pots or Pans COMBINED HOLIDAY SCHEDULE OF SERVICES July 3 - United Church - Rev. MacFarlane July 3 - South Kinloss - Rev..H. Nugent July 10-17-24 - United Church - Rev. MacFarlane . July 31 - South Kinloss Church - Rev. MacFarlane Aug. 7-14 - South Kinloss Church - Rev. Ramsay Aug. 21 -28 -Sept. 4 - Lucknow Presbyterian Church Rev. Ramsay ALL SERVICES AT 10:00 A.M. of RR 3, Lucknow, weighing 1070 lbs. sold for 81.50. Choice Cows sold 56.00 to 60.00 while Good Cows sold 52.00 to 55.00. Canners & Cutters sold 48.00 to 51.00. Pigs 30-40 lb. traded to a high of .64 per lb. Pigs 40-50 lb. traded to a high of .67 per lb. Pigs 50-60. lbs. traded to a high of .62 per lb. Pigs 60-70 lbs. traded. to a high of .62 per lb. Next Friday, July. 8th, Brussels Stockyard will be holding another Sheep, Lamb and Goat sale at 3:00 p.m. For more information please phone 887-6461. The 4Rs — Re -use, Reduce, Recycle, and Recover energy — are necessary alter- natives to the current dependence on land- fill sites, says the OFA. At its June board of directors meeting, the Federation also strongly supported energy from waste (EFW) plants and fur- ther maintained that separation of recyclable materials can and should be an integral part of these plants. OFA president Brigid Pyke said, "The Federation will be conducting its own • study to look at the way various waste management options are funded in On- tario. Is there an imbalance in public fun- ding which leads municipalities and local governments to choose landfills over other alternatives - we'd like to know so we can recommend change." OFA will also identify specific changes in provincial and municipal legislation needed to improve community waste management. "Our goal is to come up with information and strategies which our federation members can use locally to make sure wise waste management choices are made at the local level," said Pyke. Calendar Gordon T. MONTGOMERY SCHOOL & CHARTERED BUSES Lucknow 528-2813 of Events -- JULY 21 - WONDERLAND - Toronto, Adults $30.00, Children 3 - 6and 60t $24.00. JULY 27 - MARINELAND - Niagara, Adults $28.00, Children 3 - 9 • $24.00. JULY 31 - BLUE JAYS GAME VS. NEW YORK YANKEES - SOLD OUT!! AUG. 3 - WONDERLAND - Toronto, Adults $30.00, Children 3 - 6 and 60t $24.00. AUG.. 9 - METRO ZOO - Toronto, Adults $22.00, Srs. $19.00, Children $17.00. AUG. 21 - BLUE JAYS GAME VS. MILWAUKEE BREWERS - Toronto, $28.00 Bus and Game AUG.22 - WONDERLAND - Toronto, Adults $30.00, Children 3 - 6 and 60t 824.00 SEPT. 18 - BLUE JAYS GAME VS. CLEVELAND INDIANS - Toronto, $25.00 Bus and Game. MAKE PLANS WITH YOUR FAMILY AND CALL US AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID ANY DISAPPOINTMENT. Call Thelma at 528-2813 GORDON T. MONTGOMERY SCHOOL AND CHARTERED BUSES