Ag Sector Concerned Over Minister Bibeau's Carbon Tax Decision

Jun 12, 2020

There's a lot of confusion and frustration over the Federal Agriculture Ministers' decision to not give farmers a break when it comes to the cost of the carbon tax on grain drying.

Marie-Claude Bibeau says based on the data the cost of the carbon tax on grain drying is not significant enough to warrant any action.

Last year's wet harvest meant a lot of farmers were running grain dryers 24-7 to get grain into condition for storage.

As a result, farmers faced big increases not only on propane and natural gas costs but on the carbon tax associated with that.

Todd Lewis is President of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan.

He says they're disappointed in the Minister's decision not to help farmers that are dealing with the extra costs.

"Farmers are very frustrated. You know, I think this is a problem not only in grain drying, but the carbon taxes has also been a huge impact on producers. Our numbers, you know that we came too, we still stand by them. I believe this year we're saying to be as high as 10% or higher on net farm income and that's straight off the bottom line of producers."

An early study by APAS on the cost of the Carbon Tax estimated a five-thousand acre grain farm could expect to pay between $8,000 and $10,000 this year in carbon tax.

The Conservative Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food John Barlow wants to know where the Minister got her numbers.

"To say that the cost of the carbon tax specifically for grain drying is about $200-$800 a year is grossly misinformed. I'm looking at a bill right now from a producer in Northern Saskatchewan, it's 1600 dollars for a month. I've talked to another producer in Southern Alberta yesterday, and his was $25,000 last year. So to say that this is, you know, a minimal cost to agriculture is completely out of touch. And I've asked her, you know, where is this data? How are you coming to this conclusion?"

He says Agriculture Canada and the Minister need to be upfront and transparent on how they're coming to these numbers.

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