NFU Calling For Carbon Tax Rebate On Grain Drying

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."

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.