Farmers Concerned About Carbon Tax

Prime Minister Trudeau told the Commons this week, when it comes to having Canadians pay the federal carbon tax, people are "better off."  That comment comes as farm groups on the prairie look to Ottawa to exempt farm fuels...especially those used for drying their crops. 

 

Ian Boxall with APAS says the PM's comment was disappointing, but he remains optimistic the government will help producers.

 

"I think maybe they haven't had time to look at the numbers yet. We fulfilled their request and provided those numbers on all aspects that we could quantify and there is stuff we haven't been able to quantify, like additional costs and manufacturing. The numbers we could quantify we gave them and they requested those. People have to remember that farmers are the biggest stewards of the land. It produces livelihoods for the family's, boosts our communities, provinces and the country. We are well aware of climate change and the effects it has on our livelihoods and we don't have the opportunity to pass those extra costs that the carbon tax along to the people that he talks about that are getting more of a rebate," explained Boxall. 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.