The Liberal government tabled its first federal budget on Tuesday, calling for a deficit of almost $30 billion dollars in the fiscal year, starting April 1.

In the area of agricultural research, the government's financial plan included $41.5 million on a cash basis starting in 2016-17 for the modernization of select Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency research stations and labs.

It also allocated $30 million over six years for AAFC to support advanced research in agricultural genomics.

Opposition agriculture critic Chris Warkentin says the investment in genomic research isn't anything new.

"This is something the government has always done," he says, "it's something the government has been doing for decades. This is not a new initiative, it's nothing that will impact farmers in a way that they haven't been impacted before. It's simply an extension of a program that already existed."

Warkentin gives the budget a failing grade on agriculture, adding that he thinks it shows the Liberals' fiscal mismanagement.

The office of Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay was contacted for comment, but has not yet responded.