IN THE NEWS

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association has sent a letter to Canada’s federal agriculture and environment ministers lamenting the extra financial burden caused by the tax. “We get calls every day from irate farmers,” said association president Gunter Jochum.

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers (WCWG) are pleased that CN Rail and the Teamsters have come to a tentative agreement and that the grain can now move to market. “Our global markets depend on the timely shipping of our products. It is imperative that we are able to meet our contractual obligations,” said Gunter Jochum, President [...]

“While we’re grateful that the parties have come to an agreement, the federal government needs to take steps to ensure that grain farmers are not held ransom in the future. Rail service should be deemed an essential service,” Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, a Saskatchewan director with the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, said Tuesday.

“The federal government is adding a carbon tax onto virtually all the inputs that grain farmers need to grow our crops. In particular the cost of grain drying this fall has seen the carbon tax add as high as 30% or more,” said WCWGA President Gunter Jochum.

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers (WCWG) launched its No Farm Carbon Tax petition on Wednesday. Farmers are encouraged to add their names to the document. The organization will send the petition to the federal ministers of agriculture, environment and climate change.

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers are asking for a tax exemption on grain drying following this year's poor, wet harvest. Members of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers (WCWG) say the additional tax imposed as part of carbon pricing will put grain producers in a bind following the low yield and tough growing season. Jim Wickett, [...]

An online petition has been launched to let farmers tell Ottawa how much money they are paying in carbon tax. The President of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers says it’s very apparent on propane and natural gas bills for grain drying. Gunter Jochum says in some cases, the carbon tax portion is as high as [...]

The chair of the Western Wheat Growers says a strike would cause a major disruption to prairie grain exports. Jim Wickett wants the federal government to step in to ensure there's no significant stoppage to the movement of prairie grain to port, and Minister of Energy, Sonya Savage is calling for Parliament to address the [...]

Farm leaders have also called for a quick end to the dispute. APAS president Todd Lewis, SARM president Ray Orb, and Western Wheat Growers chair Jim Wickett have called for a rapid end to the labor disruption. The executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, Wade Sobkowich, has also called on Ottawa to bring [...]

A strike by thousands of Canadian National Railway workers will likely make a bad harvest even worse, warns the head of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. On Tuesday, roughly 3,200 conductors and yard workers went on strike across the country after talks between the company and workers fell apart. Jim Wickett, a farmer near Rosetown, [...]

The President of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers says they're very disappointed to see the Liberals back in power. Gunter Jochum, who farms in Manitoba, says although the Liberals won a minority Government, the farming community sent a clear message they wanted to see a change in power.

Gunter Jochum, who farms in Manitoba, says although the Liberals won a minority Government, the farming community sent a clear message they wanted to see a change in power. "Anything rural in Ontario was blue as well, and us in the West, naturally all blue, and that is because of how the Liberals treated agriculture [...]