The National Farmers Union (NFU) has sent a letter to Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson, outlining the need for a rebate on pollution pricing fees currently being charged on natural gas and propane used for on-farm grain drying.
The federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act exempts farmers’ gasoline and diesel purchases that are used for running farm machinery on the farm and for driving machinery from one location to another at a farm, but does not exempt propane or natural gas used on farms for grain drying. As a result, farmers have additional costs for unavoidable grain drying, and some may resort to using higher-emitting diesel burners to avoid paying the carbon price.
“Our elevators just wouldn’t take in soybeans over 14% moisture content, but we got it off between 15% and 18% in November. A propane or natural gas grain dryer is the only solution we have to bringing soybean moisture down this winter,” said NFU Member Dean Harder of Lowe Farm, Manitoba. “We’re hopeful that the government understands our predicament and will work with the agriculture industry to find alternative grain drying solutions in the future, but right now propane is still the best option on our farm."
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