Unifor workers in both Ontario and Quebec walked off the job Sunday following a breakdown in talks between the union and the system operator, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp (SLSMC).

Negotiations with a federal mediator are slated to resume on Friday, but Devitt said there is little time to spare because the longer the seaway is closed, the bigger impact the strike will have.

“What we’re doing is calling on government and the parties involved to get this strike over as soon as possible.”

Devitt said storage capacity in southwestern Ontario, which is home to the province’s grain and soybean production, is limited because of the close proximity to port access. The strike is occurring at a particularity critical point in the harvest, he added.

“We’re in the last third of soybean harvest, and corn is just getting started in Ontario. It’s been a late start for the growing season and wet weather these last few weeks. We’ve got a huge amount of corn and soybeans that are either in the field or need to get to market,” he said.

“We rely on boats moving out the St. Lawrence around the world at harvest in Ontario.”

Port terminals in southwestern Ontario are filling up and deliveries are starting to be restricted.

Storage capacity is currently being used for soybeans, which means corn can’t be harvested and stored, Devitt said.

“If we don’t free up that room in the countryside from beans, we’re not going to have room for corn,” he said.

The strike’s impacts could reach beyond southwestern Ontario if it continues. The seaway usually closes during freeze-up in January, and the backlog could hit western grain shipments coming out of Thunder Bay if a resolution isn’t found before the New Year, he added.

The Canada Labour Code requires workers to continue serving bulk grain vessels at ports in the event of a strike or lockout, as was the case during the longshore workers’ strike at West Coast ports this summer.

The SLSMC has sought a ruling from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) on whether that Labour Code rule applies to seaway workers in this case.

SLSMC vice-president Jean Aubry-Morin said via email Tuesday that no deadline has yet been announced for the CIRB to rule on the matter.

— Alex McCuaig reports for the Western Producer from Medicine Hat, Alta. Includes files from Dave Bedard of AGCanada.com.

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Brendan Byrne, Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) chair, and CEO Crosby Devitt fielded questions on what measures the organization was taking toward agricultural land protection and intensification planning to address increasing housing pressure during the organization’s annual meeting on Sept. 12 near Woodstock.

Why it matters: Amid the increasing cost of farming, concerns around losing farming’s greatest asset — land — are increasing in the face of recent provincial planning strategy changes.

Byrne said there are regional differences and strong opinions on either side regarding the Greenbelt and planning strategy issue.

“At this time, we don’t have a set stance on the Greenbelt protection,” he said.

“There are others talking about expanding it and wanting more Greenbelt protection, and that comes with a whole other list of concerns.”

One member challenged Byrne’s statement, saying regardless of which side the organization fell on the Greenbelt issue, there should be a solid position that protecting agricultural lands must be a priority within a workable provincial planning strategy.

“Planners in the GTA area, or any city, within the city limits, said they have lots of space that could be built on – that transitional housing or the affordable housing they need,” she said. “As long as there is land within the urban centre that could be built on, that’s where you should be doing it. Where the people want to live, where the people are.”

In response, Devitt told members fulsome conversations are happening behind the scenes with the government.

“(There’s) a realization that regardless of how this planning, how this development happens, we’re going to see more people living in rural Ontario,” said Devitt.

“And small communities are growing.”

GFO’s pushed for investment into farm-friendly infrastructure, road access, and the need to address existing traffic issues for producers as residential builds encroach on farmland. Devitt said the tax burden shouldn’t shift to farmers with these increased tax bases but lower the tax rate instead.

“We’ve got strong Right to Farm legislation that protects farmers in their operations and their ability to do things,” he explained, adding robust rural trespassing regulations, biosecurity standards, and education opportunities to inform new rural residents could assist in creating farm advocates instead of adversaries.

“They’re (issues) not directly related to planning but understanding that, whatever happens here,” Devitt said. “We’re seeing hundreds of thousands of people coming into Ontario every year, and they’ve got to live somewhere.”

Throughout 2023, GFO pushed for a total carbon tax exemption, supporting Bill C-234’s progression to the Senate for review, fertilizer tariff rebates, and science-based government policy decision-making.

Attaining a full carbon tax exemption relies on the Senate committee and additional conversations with MPs from all parties to gain support.

Additionally, GFO representatives have threaded discussions on the importance of biofuels as a clean energy source as the transition to embrace electric vehicles continues into the meetings.

On the fertilizer front, Byrne said the end goal remains the same:

• No barriers to access.
• Rebates on tariffs paid.
• No regulated restrictions on use.

“We brought fertilizer into food security conversations,” he said. “Some tariff dollars did find their way back into farmers’ pockets.”

“The Stone-X (GFO commissioned report) gave really good data to bring to the government to show them the usage, show them why it’s important to our economy as a whole, and try to have some of those conversations around trade,” he said. “Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage to not be able to source from nations because the other nations then know they can overcharge.”

Byrne explained adding sustainability to agriculture is one thing, but ensuring farming is sustainable and building a robust agricultural sector is critical.

“The number one priority for us is that the farmers in Ontario can keep growing,” said Byrne. “That’s growing the seed on your farms, but also keeping in mind that legacy group coming up behind you that’s going to work the land.”

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Ford on Friday announced a major cabinet shuffle, dropping Hardeman, the long-time MPP for Oxford, from the cabinet table and naming Lisa Thompson as minister for agriculture, food and rural affairs.

Thompson, who until Friday was Ford’s minister of government and consumer services, has been MPP for the western Ontario riding of Huron-Bruce since 2011. She previously served as minister of education (2018-19) and in opposition critic portfolios such as international trade (2017-18) and environment (2014-17).

Thompson lives on a family farm near Teeswater, about 100 km northwest of Kitchener, where she and her husband raise purebred Boer goats. She served as general manager for the Ontario Dairy Goat Co-operative before entering provincial politics.

Thompson’s resume also includes a degree in economics and study in the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program at the University of Guelph, plus certification from the George Morris Centre executive development program at U of G’s Ontario Agricultural College. She also previously chaired the Ontario 4-H Foundation and served as vice-chair for Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc.

Thompson “understands the need of rural communities and farmers, and we know she will look for new ways of supporting and helping grow farm businesses and rural economies,” Grain Farmers of Ontario chair Brendan Byrne said in a separate release Friday.

“With COVID disruptions, trade disputes, volatile markets and high levels of business risk for farmers, Ontario agriculture needs a strong voice and advocate who understands farmers and farming businesses,” GFO CEO Crosby Devitt said in the same release.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture on Friday also hailed Thompson’s appointment. As government and consumer services minister, she was a “key partner” in addressing concerns with the provincial Not-for-Profit Corporations Act and its “potential negative impacts on (OFA’s) democratic structure,” the organization said.

Thompson “has a valuable understanding of farm and rural issues and has a direct connection to those communities,” OFA president Peggy Brekveld said in a separate release.

Ford’s shuffled cabinet includes himself and 23 ministers plus five associate ministers.

“As we continue our work to rebuild and support Ontario’s health system, our renewed team is well positioned to deliver on the priorities that matter to Ontarians, including getting more people back to work, making life more affordable, supporting businesses and job creators and building transit infrastructure,” he said Friday.

Hardeman, the MPP for Oxford since 1995, served stints as then-premier Mike Harris’ agriculture minister (1999-2001), the Tories’ opposition agriculture critic (2003-05, 2008-14), and Ford’s ag minister from mid-2018 up until Friday.

Before entering provincial politics, Hardeman owned and operated Hardeman Feed at Salford, Ont., east of London, from 1966 to 1995 and chaired the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) in 1993 and 1994.

“We engaged regularly with Minister Hardeman over the past few years and wholeheartedly appreciate his passion for agriculture and his desire to see our dynamic industry grow, innovate and move forward,” OFA’s Brekveld said Friday.

Other appointments in Friday’s shuffle of interest to farmers include Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP Dave Piccini as environment and conservation minister and Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford as natural resources minister.

Rickford’s portfolio now involves a “merged role” also including northern development, mines and forestry, and he remains minister for Indigenous affairs. “This new northern- and economic-focused ministry will enhance development potential and sustainability in the north,” the government said Friday.

Energy, meanwhile, will become a separate ministry handled by Todd Smith, MPP for Bay of Quinte. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Barry Senft, whose resume in Canadian agriculture includes stints as CEO for Grain Farmers of Ontario, executive director for the Canadian International Grains Institute, chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission and second vice-president for Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, becomes executive director of Seeds Canada on June 1.

Senft, originally from Lipton, Sask., stepped down in April last year as GFO’s CEO, having led that organization since its 2009 formation in a merger of Ontario’s corn, soybean and wheat grower groups.

Seeds Canada formally launched in February, completing a merger of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA), Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada (CSAAC), Canadian Seed Institute (CSI) and Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA).

Senft’s “national experience in the grain sector, understanding of agriculture issues and extensive experience in strategic development and leadership will be an asset,” Seeds Canada president Ellen Sparry said in a release Thursday.

“The impact of the seed sector is already significant, but there is great potential for it to do more if we can unlock its full potential with the right regulations and support,” Senft said in the same release.

Senft, as executive director, is expected to work with the Seeds Canada board and staff to “ensure the organization continues to grow throughout the amalgamation and deliver enhanced services for members and clients.”

Among his first tasks, the organization said, “will be to enact a renewed outreach to current and potential members and to drive Seeds Canada’s members priorities to the forefront of government agenda.”

The organization’s first annual general meeting is scheduled to take place virtually from July 9 to 16. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s first budget, released April 19, included significant spending to help producers transition to a greener economy and cited agriculture as a foundational pillar of Canada’s future.

“CFA will be working closely with the federal government to ensure that these words are followed with impactful actions that truly leverage the potential in our sector,” said CFA president Mary Robinson in a statement.

Six investments in particular were highlighted by CFA as items in line with the pre-budget recommendations made by Canada’s largest general farm group.

A $1 billion commitment to rapidly roll out broadband projects, and additional money to assist farmers combat COVID-19 and climate change were included on that list, and in budget 2021.

CFA said it would have liked to see “targeted investments addressing the sector’s continued labour needs and leverage domestic market opportunities” but welcomed $1.9 billion in spending over four years to improve Canada’s trade corridors.

“Agriculture has the ability to become a natural climate solution with the continued adoption of technologies and techniques that improve carbon sequestration and capture” with the proper investments and infrastructure, Robinson said.

Bob Lowe, president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said the group sees the budget as “a starting place for economic recovery discussions. With enabling supports and strategic investments, the agri-food sector has the potential to come out of the pandemic stronger than ever and help Canada in its fight against climate change.”

The CCA said the beef cattle sector is already leading sustainability initiatives through its 2030 goals and “look(s) forward to being a partner of the government as policies and programs are developed.”

Farmers and ranchers to be part of these discussions, the CCA said, “to ensure there are not unintended consequences for the environment, such as grassland loss.

“We note the budget included land conservation efforts and it is important that grasslands, that are such a vital part of the working landscape, are included in these policies, particularly as other government policies may lead to the unintended consequence of further grassland conversion.”

Farmers For Climate Solutions offered up one of the most comprehensive pre-budget submissions to the federal government, and is claiming a win in budget 2021. Like the CFA, several of its pre-budget recommendations were directly addressed by Freeland.

A $200 million in new funding over two years to help producers reduce emissions through nitrogen management, cover cropping and rotational grazing scored high marks with the organization. So too did the $60 million set aside to protect wetlands and trees over the next two years.

As its name suggests, Farmers For Climate Solutions has focused its lobbying efforts on green investments for the sector as Canada aims to achieve its Paris Agreement targets by 2030.

Ian McCreary, a Saskatchewan grain and livestock farmer who helped develop the organization’s budget recommendations, said Canada’s customers want sustainably grown food.

“This investment will support farmers across the country to scale-up practices that are proven to reduce our sector’s emissions,” he said, “Climate change poses the single largest threat to our sector, and this investment is an imperative for our ongoing success.”

‘Points’

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau gave credit to the producers who continue to work to reduce emissions on their farms.

“More and more, farmers are the first ones to witness climate change,” she said, adding they are also the first ones that have to deal with changing weather.

“We have to make a much more significant shift.”

Leading up to the budget, the Liberals telegraphed several intentions and welcomed consultations.

While some groups were happy to see the government pay attention to consultations, not all stakeholders were congratulating the federal government for the 2021 budget.

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWG), for one, said it saw little that will benefit grain farmers in the budget and accused the government of failing to consult with the industry before announcing plans to limit nitrogen fertilizer use.

Its previously released climate plan noted direct emissions from synthetic nitrogen fertilizer applications had increased 60 per cent since 2005 and are projected to continue rising.

That plan committed to setting a “national emission reduction target of 30 per cent below 2020 levels from fertilizers and work with fertilizer manufacturers, farmers, provinces and territories, to develop an approach to meet it.”

A $50 million commitment to help retrofit grain dryers to be more environmentally friendly, as part of a $165.7 million investment, was also included in the budget.

“It is staggering to think that the federal government wants grain farmers to adopt commercially available clean technology by moving off diesel and assist with the purchase of more efficient grain dryers – this is an odd proposal and suggests that the farmers don’t already adopt the newest innovations that have proven benefits… which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Margaret Hansen, Saskatchewan’s director for the WCWG, said in a statement.

Despite Hansen’s assertion all farmers are already adopting commercially available clean technology, the federal government plans to help cover the cost of retrofitting about 1,400 grain dryers to be more environmentally friendly.

Asked about a lack of consultation, Bibeau pointed out she regularly ranks among the most lobbied federal politicians.

“I feel that’s all my life,” she said. “I spend my life on Zoom (with stakeholders).”

She said actions taken in this budget, and action items proposed ahead of it, were measured by their contributions to reaching Canada’s climate goals.

“The proposals that were bringing the best results in terms of reducing emissions would gain more points when it came to the final decision,” she said.

Grain Farmers of Ontario, meanwhile, said it “applauds” the government’s budget pledge to return a portion of the proceeds from carbon pricing directly to farmers.

GFO chair Brendan Byrne said the budget “recognizes that many farmers rely on natural gas and propane in their operations and that there are no ready substitutes.”

GFO was among several farm groups calling on Ottawa to exempt fuels used for grain drying from the pollution pricing system. Byrne said the group will “continue to call on the government to similarly rebate funds collected to date, and to ensure that rebates are delivered in a way that is equitable and administratively simple.”

The Canadian Horticulture Council (CHC) said it was “disappointed” in agriculture funding seen in the budget, “as it fails to adequately recognize our sector’s important role in a post-pandemic economic recovery.”

Jan VanderHout, CHC’s president and a vegetable grower in Ontario, said in a statement “we had hoped to receive more support from the federal budget.”

Horticulture producers had called for the creation of a financial protection mechanism for fruit and vegetable growers, pitching it as a no-cost solution for government that would save farm businesses.

“As Canadians continue to deal with the economic impacts of COVID-19, ensuring a stable and secure supply of fresh food remains critical,” said Rebecca Lee, CHC’s executive director.

“A greater consideration for cost certainty, through financial protection and stable business risk management programming, would go a long way to equipping our fruit and vegetable growers with the tools to survive and thrive.”

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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Grain Farmers of Ontario, which inherited the pooling system from one of its heritage organizations, the Ontario Wheat Producers’ Marketing Board, announced Tuesday it will wind down its wheat pool and its forward-contract wheat marketing programs.

The organization’s wheat pool dates back to 1973, when the OWPMB assumed responsibility for marketing the province’s wheat. At the time, GFO said, “there was a single-desk marketing system and fewer ways to market wheat in Ontario.”

Today, GFO said, there are more than 267 licensed dealers and 372 licensed elevators in Ontario. Grain farmers in the province resumed full open marketing in 2003.

GFO’s board made its decision “after several years of gathering feedback from our farmer-members and watching the trends in wheat marketing,” GFO chair Markus Haerle said Tuesday in a release.

“It became increasingly clear that our farmer-members are successfully marketing their wheat on their own through other wheat buyers.”

The GFO wheat pool handled 3,300 tonnes of wheat in the 2019 crop year, when total harvested area sat at 752,000 acres. Ontario farmers grew more than 1.5 million tonnes of wheat in 2019 for the 2020 crop year, GFO said.

GFO farmer-members “have shown through decreased engagement with our wheat pool and contract programs that they are able to market their wheat successfully through other vendors, and that they prefer to do so.”

The 2020 pool and contracts will continue to be marketed without any changes, GFO said. The organization said it will work on an individual basis with any farmer-member who has wheat contracted past the completion of the marketing year, expected by May 31, 2021.

GFO said it will also continue to provide daily price reports and bids as well as the SellSmart market information app it set up in 2010-11. “The only change to information shared by (GFO) about prices and markets is that our own bid will no longer exist.”

The organization said it will also continue to work with the SGS Grains Analytical Lab to provide “credible quality data and enhanced customer confidence” and will still “actively promote Ontario wheat to domestic and international markets.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Once again, the federal and provincial governments appear to have been able to drag out any changes to business risk management programs until the point when crop prices have started to come back again.

This is a cycle, almost endless, although I hope each time I see it that the sector and government will figure out a way to help flatten out the financial pain from commodity markets.

Corn last hit US$5 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade in 2014. The price of corn hit $4.19 per bushel in mid-October, which is the highest price in several years. It’s since settled down around the U.S. election.

We haven’t hit the low $2 per bushel of the early 2000s, but corn prices have been stuck lower than makes farmers happy for a while.

Soybean prices have also risen in the past couple of months, almost hitting US$11 per bushel at the end of October.

That’s better than the prices we’ve seen for five years.

This is also often the trend. Farmers hang on for several years, find that government support programs don’t help much and then they rise up with increasing tactics looking for government help at just about the time when prices start to rise again.

Our markets columnist reports that Ontario basis levels are rising due to local demand, even as commodity prices softened around the U.S. election.

There are some decent fundamentals in the market now, although their lifespan could be limited, including Chinese demand based on the U.S. trade deal and COVID-19 repercussions meaning more storage of staple crops.

Then there’s the usual inevitability that other trading partners, depending on their local politics are much more willing to pile billions of dollars into their farmers’ pockets.

That’s the case in 2020 again. Often the transgressor is Europe, but this time it’s the Americans, as the Trump administration played the socialist handing out $55 billion to farmers to mask his inability to open markets.

The increased buying by China due to Trump’s trade deal does show some promise to continue to raise crop prices, so the American subsidies might be able to slow up in 2021.

Where does this leave us in Ontario? There is now more of a national trend to push for changes to AgriStability. There’s little doubt the program doesn’t work for farmers and it hasn’t for a while, as shown by the gradual decline in farmer enrollment.

Why put up premiums if it’s never going to pay out for you? That’s why Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) and others across the country are looking for a return to a program trigger at 85 per cent of long-term reference margins.

GFO and other groups across the country are also looking for a removal of reference margin limits.

The next federal-provincial-territorial agriculture ministers’ meetings have continued to be delayed because of various reasons including COVID-19 and provincial elections, but I expect the backroom discussions that could add hundreds of millions to the program, are challenging.

Governments like to create programs that are one-size-fits-all, but agriculture especially is way too complicated for that.

That also means slower movement when there’s a problem.

The government handout lobbying isn’t a great look for agriculture, and luckily it only happens when the situation gets dire.

The other factor in the current climate is that Dairy Farmers of Canada is also pushing for the payout of more than a billion dollars over eight years to help manage through trade deal implications.

There’s plenty of debate over supply management, but over the years, dairy farmers have been able to say they haven’t been subsidized by governments. That’s now changed and it’s a concerning hole in the story for the future of supply management.

So we’re now back to the apex of lobbying and the hands are out, and it’s not just farmers involved in commodity crop and livestock production.

I keep hoping we won’t get to this point again, but we always do.

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government intends to present its Clean Fuel Standard this year, aiming to cut 30 million tonnes of emissions by 2030.

Renewable diesel, made by processing spent cooking oil, canola oil or animal fats, can be used in high concentrations or without blending in conventional diesel engines.

So far, Canadian companies have been slow in preparing to make the fuel, with only three projects publicly announced, said Ian Thomson, president of the Advanced Biofuels Canada industry group.

At least five U.S. refiners have announced plans to produce renewable diesel or said they are considering it, including Phillips 66 and HollyFrontier Corp.

“This is Canada’s to lose,” Thomson said. “If Canada’s refiners want to get left out of the game, they will dig their heels in and oppose the standard. Meanwhile, the Americans will build.”

Renewable diesel is a niche market, making up just 0.5 per cent of the 430-billion gallon per year global diesel market, according to investment bank Morgan Stanley.

Greenhouse gas emissions from renewable diesel and traditional biodiesel are typically 50-80 per cent lower than conventional diesel.

U.S. states such as Colorado and Washington are moving toward such standards and along with Canada’s fuel standard, a sufficient market is developing, said HollyFrontier executive Tom Creery, on the company’s second-quarter earnings call.

Suncor Energy, Canada’s second-biggest oil producer, has been considering a renewable diesel plant in Montreal, but the pandemic slowed its progress, said chief sustainability officer Martha Hall Findlay.

Canadian refiners face longer regulatory delays than competitors in the United States, setting them at a disadvantage, she said.

“The timelines would force investment in facilities outside Canada because of the sheer fact that we can’t build them that fast,” Hall Findlay said. “That seems a little backward.”

New supply could far overshoot demand if all announced projects are built, Morgan Stanley said.

Parkland Fuel Corp. is producing renewable diesel and renewable gasoline in its Burnaby, B.C. refinery, and is considering expanding capacity, said senior vice-president Ryan Krogmeier.

“There’s a tremendous opportunity for Canada to harness its natural resources,” he said. “The market for renewable fuels is really taking off.”

However, Canada’s criteria for crops to be made into biofuels are too strict to be practical, said farmer Markus Haerle, a corn and soybean grower and chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario.

Federal officials have told the group that farms must meet strict requirements to qualify their crops, such as growing them at least 30 metres from waterways and on land that has not been significantly cleared of trees.

“We know farmers won’t be able to be certified under those criteria,” Haerle said.

The same standards will apply to imported fuels, said Samantha Bayard, spokeswoman for Canada’s environment ministry.

— Reporting for Reuters by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg and Laura Sanicola in New York.

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Glacier FarmMedia and the Ontario government on Tuesday announced their intent to work toward a land deal with the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO), which today leases Section 1 of its Woodstock Research Station to the media company for the show.

The plan calls for Winnipeg-based GFM — the owner of this website — to buy the current 100-acre COFS site, lease “some adjacent lands” and set up what it plans to call Discovery Farm Woodstock.

A deal, expected to be finalized next year, “will not only secure the future of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show but also bring new research and innovation infrastructure to southern Ontario,” GFM president Bob Willcox said in a release.

“Our intention with Discovery Farm Woodstock is to bring together key players from industry and science to find practical solutions to the key questions facing farmers today.”

The proposal calls for a sustainability and soil health centre to be set up at the farm show and field demo site, where Discovery Farm Woodstock would focus on “farmer-driven applied research and innovation in the area of sustainability and soil health using an in-field and classroom framework,” the company said.

“Key to our plan is establishing strategic partnerships,” Willcox said, to work on applied research projects and to help ensure knowledge and technology transfer.

The plan also calls for building “urban and rural connection” through a student demo farm with partners including Grain Farmers of Ontario, the province said Tuesday.

Discovery Farm Woodstock would also be a sister site to Discovery Farm Langham, which GFM operates at Langham, Sask., west of Saskatoon, and which hosts the company’s annual Ag in Motion outdoor farm show.

Closing the proposed deal is “contingent on fulfillment of the duty to consult and all legal requirements,” the Ontario government said in a separate release Tuesday.

ARIO chair Lorne Hepworth, in the same release, described the proposed deal as “a win-win-win” for farmers, COFS and the province’s ag sector.

“Through the proposed sale of the Woodstock Research Station, COFS will continue to provide farmers with the vital opportunity to learn about the latest and greatest farming practices and technology,” provincial Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman said Tuesday in the same release.

“Today’s announcement is good news for Ontario’s agriculture sector, which will have expanded access to that research, and is good news for our community and local economy, which will benefit from year-round activities on this site.”

Woodstock Mayor Trevor Birtch said city officials “have been working on this file for years to ensure that Canada’s largest outdoor farm show can continue to host this experiential learning event.”

Thanking the province for making the commitment to permanently secure the land in question, he said local officials “look forward to working with all of our partners to ensure the outdoor farm show remains a fixture in Ontario.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, COFS rebranded for 2020 as Canada’s Digital Farm Show, which runs online this week from Tuesday through Friday. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Her department used data provided by grower groups – including Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) and the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) – to arrive at the figures.

The federal estimate of the costs also factored in data provided by provincial governments, including those from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

In all, the costs of carbon pricing on grain drying work out to between 0.05 to 0.42 per cent of total on-farm operating expenses, according to the federal government.

Citing high costs, grain farmers have asked for an exemption from the carbon tax for grain drying. Their case for doing so appeared to be bolstered by a particularly wet 2019 harvest, but the federal Liberal government is not considering such a measure at this time.

“The analysis that has been made by the department do not show that the impact of the price on pollution has a significant impact on grain drying, that it has a significant impact on the operation costs,” Bibeau said during a press availability Tuesday. “The impact is a very small percentage in the operating costs, so this is why we are not moving forward with more specific relief.”

Instead, federal officials hint at other approaches to offer relief to grain farmers. In February, the federal and Alberta governments partnered to launch the Efficient Grain Dryer Program. Aimed at covering the cost of improving energy efficiency on dryers, $2 million was retroactively made available to cover 50 per cent of eligible expenses.

A review of carbon pricing on “trade-exposed industries” — including agriculture — was also planned for early 2020 by the federal government. The current status of that review is unclear, but preliminary looks at carbon pricing’s impact on certain sectors of the economy are ongoing, according to federal officials.

Producers should not expect a recommendation to offer an exemption on grain drying coming out of that formal review when it is completed, however.

“Where the impact is significant, exemptions have been given,” Bibeau said, citing exemptions for operating farm machinery and vehicles, and for heating greenhouses.

“This pollution pricing policy, it’s an important part for a greener economy and for more sustainable development, and I think we also want to recognize farmers are doing a lot in terms of improving technologies, improving their practices to be good stewards of the land also,” she told reporters, “but I don’t think the price of pollution, waiving the price of pollution is the right approach, but we want to recognize the farmers for the good things they are doing for environment and we have more work to do on that.”

Critics – and producer groups – are taking issue with the figures Bibeau cited, arguing it is a far cry from the actual carbon costs they are paying to dry grain.

Conservative Party of Canada agriculture critic John Barlow brought the issue up during a meeting of the Commons standing committee on agriculture on Wednesday, saying he has seen higher figures from producers than the averages provided by Bibeau.

“I’ve got some ranging to a couple thousand dollars a month, and one that’s close to $10,000 a month,” he said, adding that Bibeau’s stats were “out of touch with reality.”

KAP has previously calculated Manitoba corn growers were paying around $3 an acre in grain drying-related carbon costs.

Grain Farmers of Ontario, in a separate statement Thursday, noted its numbers put the average cost of carbon pricing on the fuel to dry a corn crop at $5.50 per acre.

Thus, “on a 1,000-acre farm the carbon tax bill would be more than $5,000,” GFO chair Markus Haerle said. “That is really just the tip of the iceberg. We estimate that the cost of the carbon tax is $14 per acre if you take into account transportation, inputs, and more.”

During the committee meeting, federal deputy agriculture minister Chris Forbes said data from KAP, APAS, GFO and provinces were used to arrive at the federal estimate.

He admitted there were “slightly different estimates and that’s why we come up with a range.

“It’s based on grain farmers…there’s no kind of broader number of farms included there.”

Carbon pricing for provinces without their own plans went into effect in 2019, starting at $20 per tonne before rising to $30 a tonne in April. Costs will increase until 2022, when they reach $50 a tonne.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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