Most farmers and ag businesses assume SR&ED is for pharmaceutical labs or tech startups. It’s not. If your operation is running structured trials — testing new crop varieties, adjusting feed rations, or adapting practices to unpredictable conditions — you may already be doing SR&ED work without calling it that

Why Agriculture Fits SR&ED

Agriculture is defined by variability. Soil conditions, weather, pest pressure, and input performance shift year to year, field to field, and farm to farm. When standard practices don’t deliver reliable results, producers and ag businesses test, adjust, and iterate.

That process — systematic investigation under conditions of technical uncertainty — is exactly what SR&ED was designed to support. You don’t need a lab. You need a documented approach to testing something where the outcome isn’t guaranteed

What On-Farm SR&ED Actually Looks Like

Eligible work typically involves real-world trials where results can’t be predicted from published research or supplier recommendations alone. Examples include:

• Testing new crop varieties or cultivars under local soil and climate conditions where outcomes aren’t guaranteed
• Developing or refining feed rations to improve livestock performance, health, or feed efficiency
• Trialing disease control or integrated pest management strategies where established protocols aren’t producing consistent results
• Adapting equipment, irrigation systems, or application methods for new crop types or changing regulatory requirements
• Testing more sustainable production practices — reduced inputs, alternative fertility programs — when yield and quality outcomes are genuinely uncertain

In each of these cases, you’re not just farming. You’re working through a technical problem that local conditions make unpredictable.

Field Trials Count — Labs Don’t Have To

One of the most important things to understand about SR&ED for agriculture is that the CRA does not require a formal laboratory. Field trials, pilot plots, and on-farm testing all qualify — provided the work is systematic and the technical uncertainty is genuine.

What matters is documentation: what you tested, why you tested it, what you observed, and what you learned. That record is what turns a season’s worth of on-farm experimentation into a defensible SR&ED claim.

The Difference Between Normal Farming and SR&ED

Routine production activities don’t qualify. SR&ED applies when there’s a genuine technical gap — something your operation can’t resolve using existing knowledge or standard practice.

Ask yourself:

• How do we keep yields stable when switching to new cultivars or more sustainable practices?
• Why is this input or intervention performing differently on our land than published
  trials suggest?
• How do we maintain animal health and performance when adjusting feed
  programs or housing conditions?

If the answer requires structured testing rather than experience or intuition alone — and your local conditions make the outcome genuinely uncertain — you’re in SR&ED territory.

Common Reasons Ag Businesses Don’t Claim

• “We’re just farming.” The technical work happening in your fields and barns is consistently undervalued. If you’re solving problems that don’t have clear answers, that work has value.
• “We don’t have a lab.” SR&ED explicitly includes field trials and real-world testing. No controlled environment required.
• “We tried something and it didn’t work.” Negative results are strong evidence of technical uncertainty — a core SR&ED criterion. Failed trials can still support a claim.
• “We’re too small.” Smaller Canadian-controlled private corporations often see the highest refund ratios. Size is not a disqualifier.

The Bottom Line

If your operation is regularly testing new varieties, adjusting inputs, or adapting practices to conditions that vary year to year — you likely have SR&ED claims waiting to be made. The question isn’t whether you’re doing the work. It’s whether you’re getting paid for it.

Carnegie Capital Group helps farmers, ag businesses, and agricultural service companies identify, document, and claim the SR&ED credits they’ve already earned.

Get in touch today

Email us today to check your eligibility — info@carnegiecapitalgroup.com