(Alice McFarlane/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Alice McFarlane

Carbon tax

Wheat Growers say carbon tax is no joke

Apr 1, 2019 | 12:45 PM

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWGA) said the imposition of a carbon tax on Saskatchewan and Manitoba farmers is not an April Fool’s Joke.

WCWGA said the carbon tax will apply to everything used on farms. The transportation of grain, seed, fertilizer, fuel and shipping of parts will all have an additional cost that cannot be passed on to the end consumer, as grain is sold at world commodity rates.

Saskatchewan Director Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel said the tax will reduce profit margins.

“Farmers are leaders in environmental protection. The land is our livelihood, our inheritance and what we leave to the next generations of farmers. Over the past decades we have already taken many steps to protect the land through no-till planting, reduced fertilizer, improved crop rotation and other actions,” Jolly-Nagel said in a news release. “Legitimately we cannot shoulder another expense right now and a carbon tax does not make us any more environmentally friendly. We would ask that the federal government remove the carbon tax on all agriculture expenses.”

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Manitoba Director Gunter Jochum said the carbon tax will financially hurt farmers.

“At a time when there is great uncertainty in the agriculture economy, this additional cost will greatly impact farm finances. The federal government wants us to grow the agriculture sector and yet the carbon tax will impede it,” Jochum said.

WCWGA added that it wished the federal government dealt with the agriculture trade crisis in China, Italy, India, Peru and Vietnam as forcefully as they were pushing a carbon tax upon farmers.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF