Vote to pass Bill 206 – It’s important for Canadian food production

Dear Member of Parliament,

I’m writing to you on behalf of the 28,000 grain and oilseed farmers that Grain Farmers of Ontario represents. Our farmer-members’ crops produce food and other important material on which Canadians rely. We grow grains on more than six million acres of farm land across the province and this production results in over $18 billion in economic output, and is responsible for over 75,000 jobs in the province.
 
The passage of Bill C-206 is important for your farmers and we urge you and all Members of Parliament to vote in favor of the Bill on its vote at third reading stage on Wednesday June 23.
 
As you may know, grain drying is an essential part of the process of harvesting grain. Without it, grain would rot and could not be used for food, feed, or biofuels. The current price on pollution is a significant increase to the already escalating cost of production faced by grain farmers. Farmers do not have the ability to pass this cost on, nor the ability to reduce it by implementing alternatives, which simply do not yet exist. The low margins of a grain farm cannot realistically bear this cost and remain sustainable.
 
Right now there are no alternatives to drying grain in the marketplace, but we are working on examining technologies that are used in other industries. We need time to figure this out and cannot afford to pay for the carbon price in the meantime. The price is increasing every year, and will cost an average farm $29 to $46 per acre in direct drying costs by 2030. On an average 800-acre corn farm, that’s an increased cost of operations between $23,200 and $36,800. That’s not sustainable.
 
This is why Grain Farmers of Ontario asks the federal government to provide an exemption for grain drying activities, which can be achieved via passage of Bill C-206.
 
Thank you for your consideration and interest in supporting grain farmers across Canada.

Yours,
Brendan Byrne
Chair, Grain Farmers of Ontario