Western Canadian Wheat Growers Do Not Support a Carbon Tax

 

This week Federal Minister of Agriculture MacAulay stated in the Senate, “…you would find that most farmers support the moves we have made to make sure that we put a tax on carbon.” This is simply not correct.

 

“I’m not sure who has been briefing Minister MacAulay, but he is dead wrong if he thinks that most farmers support a carbon tax,” said Jim Wickett, Chair Western Canadian Wheat Growers.

 

Each province is dealing with the Federal Government’s mandated carbon tax differently and some provincial governments have attempted to make it revenue neutral. Farmers should be recognized for the positive way that they treat the land that they work on. For many generations, our farmers have taken good care of their land, to ensure that they can continue to grow safe, healthy food in an environmentally sustainable way and ensure sustainability for the next generation. Farmers should be rewarded for the huge carbon sink that agriculture creates, not penalized through a carbon tax.

 

“Farmers don’t agree on everything, but if there’s one issue they stand together on, it’s in opposition to a carbon tax,” stated Levi Wood, President Western Canadian Wheat Growers.

 

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.