Keystone Agricultural Producers is a farm lobby group that represents producers across Manitoba. In the provincial budget that was released this week, there are a number of items that will benefit farmers in the province according to KAP General Manager Brenna Mahoney.
Something that KAP has been working on for a very long time is Education Property Tax. Farmers do pay exceptionally more than an average citizen because of the land they have, so we've been pushing for a reduction and actually the elimination of Education Property Tax.
This year, residential farm property's Education Property Tax rebate will move from 25% to 37.5%. Next year it will be raised again, this time to 50%. Another cause that KAP has been lobbying for is childcare in rural communities.
Something else that is really important, and this is coming directly from our young farmers, is childcare is obviously a challenge, particularly in rural communities. There is the childcare subsidy program that was also announced so that's ten dollars a day per child. One thing we're going to continue to push for is more open spots in rural communities
You can find out more about what KAP does at their website here.