Have you ever wondered what the carbon offset value is of those shelterbelts on your land? A new app developed by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) may soon be able to help you estimate their economic value. “People tend to focus on the negative environmental aspects of farming such as the greenhouse gases… Read More
An answer to a follow up question on a conference call by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada minister Marie-Claude Bibeau struck a nerve last week. Bibeau said that the carbon tax on fuel used for grain drying wasn’t a significant enough percentage of operating costs to qualify for an exemption to the “price of pollution.” In… Read More
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has crunched the numbers on the carbon tax applied to grain drying bills and says it’s simply not a significant enough amount of overall costs to be exempt from the tax. Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau held a Zoom conference call to announce a second intake for the Local Food Infrastructure Fund,… Read More
What would the Conservative Party of Canada do with AgriStability and other business risk programs? Does this current Liberal government understand agriculture at all? What can farmers expect to change when the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement comes into effect July 1? If the answers to any of those questions interest you, check out this RealAg LIVE! segment… Read More
Submitted by the Western Canadian Wheat Growers In the midst of a global pandemic, the federal government is using April Fool’s Day to increase the carbon tax from $20/tonne to $30/tonne. At a time when hundreds of thousands of people are being laid off and many businesses are at least temporarily closing, the tax on… Read More
Manitoba’s government has revived its plan for a flat $25/tonne carbon tax, which will coincide with a one per cent drop in the provincial sales tax (PST) to take effect on July 1st. Premier Brian Pallister made the surprise announcement, referring to the carbon tax as a “Green Levy,” on Thursday — a few days… Read More
It can be easy to think about Canadian grain, canola, soybeans, or meat as just commodities — a product bought and sold, traded, and shipped. And that’s true, of course, but those commodities are also eventual meals for Canadian customers, even if those customers live in places such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, or the Philippines…. Read More
Farm groups across the country have ramped up pressure on the federal government to address the impact of the federal carbon tax and to recognize agriculture’s positive contributions in capturing greenhouse gases. Both Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) in Manitoba and the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) have released studies quantifying the cost of the… Read More
A Conservative Member of Parliament from southern Ontario tabled legislation in the House of Commons on Tuesday that would remove the carbon tax from fuels used for drying grain and heating on farms. The private member’s bill, which would amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, was introduced by Philip Lawrence, MP for Northumberland—Peterborough South…. Read More
The federal agriculture minister isn’t ruling out the introduction of additional measures aimed at softening the financial impact of the federal carbon tax on farmers across the country. Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has repeatedly said she’s looking for more data outlining how the carbon tax is affecting farm profitability. Depending on those numbers, she told reporters… Read More
Making decisions based on anecdotes, rhetoric, or hearsay is never a good idea for a government of any political stripe. Using data to enable analytical-based decision leads to choices and policy that can be defended and supported in a more bipartisan manner, if challenged. Recently, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food, Marie-Claude Bibeau has asked… Read More
The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) says grain farmers in the province will send eight percent of their total net income to the federal government in the form of a carbon tax this year. “Federal Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau has asked the agriculture industry for evidence of what the carbon tax is costing… Read More
Manitoba Ag Days may mark a beginning to the agriculture year ahead, but the hangover of 2019 is still firmly in place for the province’s farmers. A rough harvest is being made worse by the new carbon tax added to grain drying fuel bills, canola from two main exporters (one Winnipeg-based) is still blocked from… Read More
By the time harvest ends this season, the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) estimate Manitoba producers will have paid almost $1.7 million in carbon tax related to the cost of drying the 2019 corn crop. “We are firm in our position that there needs to be an exemption for farmers under the carbon tax framework for… Read More
Devin Dreeshan, Alberta’s newest Agriculture and Forestry minister and representative for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, has started the role at a time when not only are farmers busy in the fields, but the forest fire season is also in full swing. Dreeshan was recently featured on RealAg Radio to talk about what’s front and centre for his… Read More