Wet harvest forces farmers to dry grain, face carbon tax on their bills

As leaders in the legislature squabble over how to save farmers from the carbon tax after a wet harvest, the province's grain dryers are working overtime.

September and October brought heavy rain that wreaked havoc on crops, forcing farmers to harvest acres of wet product.

Natural gas grain dryers are one of the last resorts for salvaging crops. The bill is adding to farmers' bottom line and the federally-imposed carbon tax adds to it.

Since Saskatchewan has not come up with a plan to tax its emissions, farmers face the federal tax by default.

The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to hear Saskatchewan's challenge to the carbon tax in December.

In the meantime, provincial NDP leader Ryan Meili has sent a letter to the prime minister asking for a tax rebate to farmers using natural gas dryers.

Exceptionally hard year

One of the difficulties of this year's harvest is that farmers are forced to send their grain away to be dried. It's a necessary service.

Billy Husarewich runs a small grain dryer on his farm. He owns about 1,500 acres Southeast of Saskatoon with his in-laws.

"Most years we typically don't dry any grain at all," he said, standing in front of two full silos ready to be dried.

"Maybe a few thousand bushels here and there. This year will be dry and close to 40,000 bushels - Between about 25,000 of our own and ten or fifteen thousand for neighbours."

It's a process that involves pouring wet grain into a silo, then turning on a fan that pushes heat into the silo, forcing the moisture out.

In addition to a higher propane bill, he's dealing with fallout from the wet harvest in other ways.

Husarewich notes that normally, a combine can run four or five miles an hour, picking up crop flat on the ground. This year, his combine moved at two and a half miles an hour, which adds up.

According to Todd Lewis, the president of Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, frustration began months ago, since a lot of crops were weeks behind throughout the entire growing year.

"There's so much frustration in the countryside with the slowness of this year's harvest and really just the lack of days in a row that we've been able to work," he said.

Husarewich says this year marks the first time he's ever taken a second look at his propane bill, just to check the carbon tax.

'It takes a bite out of your bottom line'

Husarewich feels for the owners of the grain elevator just down the road in Bradwell.

"The more you dry, the more you're gonna pay. And you know I'm buying five hundred gallons per week, but there's guys that are buying two, three, four thousand gallons a week so that would be twelve cents on a gallon."

Frustration is mounting on the Husarewich farm.

"I mean it takes a takes a bite out your bottom line," he said.

"I can't go to the grain elevator and ask for four cents or five cents more. They pay me what it is and that's all there is to it."