Calgary, AB | The Western Canadian Wheat Growers reacted to the announcement yesterday that the federal government will undertake consultations aimed at providing a “coordinated approach to improving the agriculture sector’s environmental performance and sustainability.”
Coming on the heels of proposals to “voluntarily” limit the use of fertilizer, and in the context of this government’s aggressive GHG policies, including the punishing carbon tax, the Wheat Growers are concerned that these consultations may foreshadow another round of intrusive regulations that hurt consumers, decrease production, and amplify already extreme food inflation.
Wheat Growers President Gunter Jochum spoke to the initiative today stating, “Farmers are already deeply incented to make our operations sustainable. We want to produce the most outputs, with the fewest inputs and keep our operations going long enough to pass them to our children and grandchildren. That’s the definition of sustainability. With due respect to the federal government, we know farm sustainability better than they do. I’m concerned that what this is really about is setting up a system of higher costs and increased regulation for farmers. We will be watching these consultations carefully, but we are prepared to expend resources to tell average, urban, non-farming Canadians that their food supply and the cost of their food could be very negatively impacted by further federal “sustainability” regimes.”
About the Wheat Growers
The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association is a voluntary farmer-run advocacy organization dedicated to developing public policy solutions that strengthen the profitability and sustainability of farming, and the agricultural industry as a whole. For more information, please visit: wheatgrowers.ca. Click here to see who is helping to advocate for grain farmers.
For media requests please contact:
Morten Paulsen
1-403-399-3377
mpaulsen@wheatgrowers.ca