KAP Concerned With Manitoba Green Levy

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) has released statement regarding the Manitoba Green Levy announced Thursday by the provincial government.

 

The Manitoba government will implement a flat $25-per-tonne Green Levy and reduce the PST to six per cent, starting July 1, 2020.

 

The following comments were made by KAP Vice-President Jake Ayre:

 

“KAP members have overwhelmingly called on governments to exempt the costs of heating barns and drying grain from any carbon tax framework, given the fact that farmers must do these things to successfully manage their operations. We have been supportive of the province’s intention to exempt those costs under its provincial levy.

 

We have been supportive of using revenue for on-farm projects that will benefit farmers in their role as environmental stewards. A reduction in the provincial sales tax, however, will not have the same benefit to farmers.

 

We are concerned that a move towards an unclear tax structure at a time when farmers are already dealing with seemingly unprecedented uncertainty across their operations. The administration of a federal-provincial carbon tax structure will create additional red tape when it comes to how farmers interact with government, and we know from our own work that separating the carbon tax charges from natural gas and propane bills is not a straightforward process.”

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.