Opinion: Grain farmers need drying cost relief

From the seat of his combine on November 2, Grain Farmers of Ontario Chair Brendan Byrne urged his followers on X (formerly known as Twitter) to support Ontario grain farmers in their quest to have fuel used for drying grain exempted from the carbon tax.

Byrne, like many other Ontario grain farmers, was trying to beat the weather and get the crops in the bin after what has been a difficult season.

Indeed grain farmers across the country have been asking for a carbon tax exemption since the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act came into effect in 2018. The Act recognizes farmers need to use some fuels to perform tasks, and the tax was removed for farmers on gasoline and diesel. The use of propane and natural gas, however, does not have this exemption.

There was hope last month that Bill C-234, an Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, would finally provide the tax relief farmers, particularly those growing grains, need.

The Bill would exempt farmers from paying the fuel charge on farming operations that require the use of fossil fuels, including natural gas and propane. It includes an eight-year sunset clause, to allow the agriculture industry time to develop technology and equipment that uses more clean fuel options.

Bill C-234 was passed in the House of Commons in March 2023, but didn’t make it to the Senate until September. Two readings happened in quick succession, however the Senate’s Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry threw a wrench in the process by passing one amendment to the Bill on Oct. 19. This amendment removed the carbon tax exemption for fuel used for barn and greenhouse heating.

“Its alteration by the Senate not only diminishes [carbon price] relief but also increases the cost of Canadian food production,” Jan VanderHout, president of the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada, said in an Oct. 20 news release.

Other farm groups expressed disappointment for another important reason — that it would delay the bill’s progress in the Senate.

“We are disappointed to see some Senators on the AGFO committee vote in favour of a harmful amendment that will only serve to further delay C-234,” said Kyle Larkin, executive director of Grain Growers of Canada. “Proceeding with this amendment will cost farmers thousands of dollars which otherwise could be invested in the sustainability and efficiency of their operations.”

For Ontario farmers in particular, this delay could be very costly. A cooler than average late summer and wet start to fall has delayed harvest and crops with more moisture than desired. To maintain quality whether grain is being stored, sold, or used for livestock feed, it has to be dried. And propane and natural gas are currently the best, and only, fuel options to perform this task.

To further add insult to injury, in final committee deliberations on Oct. 24, an amendment that would make it more difficult to extend the bill’s sunset clause was defeated with a tied vote.

Senator Yuen Pau Woo proposed the change, which would require a bill to extend the clause instead of an order-in-council.

He said called this a “more rigorous, and indeed more proper” process.

Senator Brent Cotter said that while he’d prefer a more typical legislative process to the one in the bill, he didn’t support the amendment.

“Every amendment that we introduce into this bill puts in jeopardy in the likelihood that the exemption in any form doesn’t see the light of day,” he said. “That seems to me to be sad and ironic since, based on our conversation last Thursday (Oct. 19), we supported an aspect of the exemption itself … particularly with respect to grain drying.”

At the time of writing this column, the bill still had to proceed to a vote by the Senate, and the amendment also requires another vote in the House of Commons. The date at this time was unknown.

To keep this issue in front of the government, the GFO launched a social media campaign called Good for Grain, where they ask farmers and consumers to sign a letter asking their local MPs to “help keep the food on Canadian tables affordable, our grain farmers need a temporary exemption on the carbon tax to help keep them growing until a viable alternative for grain drying can be found” and speak to their colleagues in the House and Senate.

The Canadian government has said it is interested in supporting global food security. As the GFO says in its constituent letter, to do this, “we need to ensure farmers can deliver the grains our country — and the world — need now more than ever.”