New Brunswick’s provincial government has set up a voluntary Register of Farm Businesses, from which fees will be used to fund the operations of the province’s general farm organizations.
Under the system launched Friday, farmers who opt to register would pay annual fees of between $150 and $500, based on gross annual income, to a provincial Registrar of Farms who would turn them over to accredited general farm groups for operational funding.
So far the list of accredited farm groups includes just one: the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick, formed last year by a merger of the New Brunswick Federation of Agriculture and the Federation des agriculteurs et agricultrices francophones de Nouveau-Brunswick. The province expects the funding from the fees will make general farm groups “stronger and self-sufficient.”
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A registered farmer will be issued a Registered Professional Agricultural Producer (RPAP) card, which would give him or her access to government programs and services such as tax exemptions for farm gas and motive fuel, farm license plates and discounts or agriculture laboratory fees.
By tying registration to farm programs and services, “we are creating a very strong incentive for professional agricultural producers to register,” said Agriculture Minister Ron Ouelette in a release.
Any farmer who reports farming income as defined by the federal Income tax Act is allowed to register his or her operation under the new provincial legislation. Registrations and payments can be made at any Service New Brunswick location, by phone or online.
