Conservatives Say The Feds Response To Carbon Tax Costs "A Secret"

The Federal Conservatives are shocked by the Governments' response to reveal the true cost of the Carbon Tax for Agriculture.

 

Agriculture Critic John Barlow says they put a formal request in through Parliament's "Order Paper Question" which means the government has to reveal any work or data collected on the topic.

 

“We finally got the response back last week. The response was that the details and those documents are secret and the government is not going to allow farmers to see the actual data on what impact the carbon tax has on agriculture.”

 

Barlow notes from what they're hearing from producers their costs range from $3000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 

They’ve also heard from CN and CP that their costs are going up from $17 million this year to $25 million next year.

 

“I have a grain operation here in the southern part of my riding that can no longer compete on the global market and lost a $2 million contract to Qatar because as a result of the carbon tax his prices were uncompetitive on the global market. So that's why this information is so critical is to see exactly through the supply chain, what the impact has been and what it is costing our producers here domestically but also on the global market.”

 

Barlow says he's disgusted by the government's response adding they need to be held accountable and is encouraging producers to demand clarity.

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.