Alberta's Ag. minister slams carbon tax and shares canola tariff concerns | RJ Sigurdson | BCN

you know many would agree that our agriculture sector is the bread and butter of our economy we rely so heavily on our farmers and producers but where's the industry at how healthy is it right now especially in Alberta and where we headed we're joined today by RJ Sigerson Alberta minister of Agriculture and irrigation to talk a bit about the shape of our agriculture industry here in the province Minister Sigerson join us now from Edmonton RJ thanks for joining us today absolutely great to be here Hal it's uh it's a great day to have a conversation about agriculture uh such an important industry to Alberta and all of Canada Amen to that now we're seeing the combines in the fields these days uh what's the Harvest looking like here in Southern Alberta and the rest of the province well we definitely were a bit concerned at the springtime this year uh we had some strained years over the past three years but we definitely saw rainfalls in the spring unfortunately we didn't see some of the rain uh in July that would have been necessary to really uh push our agricultural industry to a what I would call a bumper year but uh we're seeing average across the province right now we're still waiting on a lot of the reports to come in uh but definitely that that spring rain that we saw this year definitely replenished the soil after three years of drought condition so it it improved uh dramatically uh this year so in your opinion what crops kind of suffered a bit this season well we definitely uh due to the fact fact that we didn't get some of the uh midterm rains in July uh we definitely are seeing uh some of the strain in our wheat uh definitely some strain in The Barley uh it just didn't get uh that rain in the mid year that you would like to generally see that it's going to improve the conditions now China has been discussing putting tariffs on Canadian canola and retaliation to the federal government putting a 100% tariff on Chinese made EVS so RJ how much would this really hurt our producers I mean I read close that that close to what 70% of our canola exports go to China yeah 70% of our canola exports do go to China so definitely this is a major concern for our Farmers uh it will have an impact uh on the agricultural industry as a whole here in the province and West all of Canada and uh we're working closely with our federal counterparts to come to a quick resolution to this uh this is very untimely when you say that the combines are in the field right now uh that this couldn't have come at a worst time so we definitely are working with our federal government right now to find a quick resolution to this and uh support our farmers and ranchers uh during this time so if the spat with China continues longterm RJ are there other trading partners we can reach out to maybe in Asia or elsewhere well this has been a focus of uh our provincial government is to take a look at the opportunities of diversify ing our global trade markets and that's why one of my first trips uh was over to Asia to have conversations about additional Pathways and strengthening strengthening the uh food security for those countries that have been uh solid trading partners with Alberta and also looking at opportunities all across the globe which is going to continue to strengthen agriculture here in the province I think it's safe to say that the majority of Alberta farmers are not in favor of the carbon tax RG how is this really impacting our agriculture sector and is there anything we can really do about it well um it it is a major impact and it's a Major Impact right down to the consumer um I've said that I believe there's more layers of the carbon tax on the food that we buy in the grocery stores and probably any other essential um you know essential commodity that people have to buy on a daily basis uh we continue to have conversations with the federal government uh to look at ending the carbon tax on all agriculture Cal related pro products because when we talk about food affordability that's really all it's doing our Agra fuit processors are paying heavy uh carbon tax uh right down to the logistics of moving our Commodities throughout the province and across the country are impacted by the carbon tax which just does nothing but raise the price of food in the grocery store for everyday albertans and Canadians you know it's certainly been an interesting year with drow concerns as you mentioned earlier and low Reservoir levels especially here in Southern Alberta but thankfully as we we talked about as well we did receive a little bit of rainfall now I know the province has been looking at ways to shore up the four pillars share store conserve and manage water is there anything definite in the works right now well we definitely are having that conversation understanding that water is a finite resource and we have to treat it as such so we are looking at uh different ways to manage our water here in the province of Alber ensure that we are maximizing uh on efficiency as much as possible uh we're we also looking at uh Investments across the board including investing in our irrigation systems uh we have uh 933 million uh that we put forward to our irrigation infrastructure modernization um through that uh we're seeing efficiencies that is opening up new acres to irrigation uh we're looking at investing in uh feasibility studies $5 million in the 2024 budget to take a look at additional storage options like uh the air Dam and Arley Dam and right down to the fact that we're working with aadia in the special areas right now they've partnered with CIB and um they are looking right now at a whole new Irrigation District in East Central Alberta that would open up 1.8 million Acres of irrigation which is important as we continue uh to look at the fact that the global demand for food is going to continue to rise over the decades to come so how about some of that water sharing how vital is that for our producers well definitely um it's incredibly important and uh when we look at the long-term Vision here in the province about investing in um you know infrastructure to be able to increase storage and capacity uh that's really important in Southern Alberta and that's why we're looking at all options available to be able to increase storage so that we can provide that stability um when we're looking at a growing province that is seeing Groves of people move here and we're seeing um some of the most uh positive growth in the agricultural space with investments in AGR processing right now we talked about Cavendish mccains uh pH uh Mills uh we we see a lot of investment coming to the province right now and we understand that water is uh critical to ensure that that continues uh continues to happen in the future and that our Farmers have the water they need to be able to grow the Commodities that everyday Canadians rely on what is the Outlook looking like right now for the cattle and hog sector here in the province well we are uh of course the the prices on the cattle side are still High um and we are seeing a lot of demand continue to increase across the globe uh the pork industry of course we've had um they've seen some strain in the past couple years with the pricing side of it we continue to work uh with them to strengthen the industry and as well um when we were over in agent was predominantly talking to and educating uh individuals in Asia about the highquality Commodities that we have here including beef and pork uh and increasing Market access in those areas to be able to strengthen those Industries interesting when Premier Daniel Smith was down in Texas recently talking about Alberta beef versus Texas beef and there's a little bit of an argument there who has the better beef what well I think that's going to be an argument that'll continue to happen for years to come I would say that Alberta's got the best beef in in the world and I'll continue to support that message everywhere I travel Amen to that now the federal government is wanting to see Alberta Farmers significantly reduce their use of nitrogen-based fertilizers and their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions RJ have you been pushing back on this or complying with Ottawa well I I'm been pushing back um you know our farmers and ranchers uh use the right amount of f fertilizer and that's the message I've been uh expressing to the federal government uh we have for R here that includes right rate right amount right fertilizer these are the policies uh that our Farmers Implement every single year in order to maximize their yields which I believe is the key to sustainable farming practices and maximizing on the acres to be able to grow the most food possible um at the price of fertilizer our Farmers uh use only what they need and and that's to be able to make sure that they have a maximum opportunity every year to to have the greatest yield possible and uh I continue to have that conversation with the federal government in making them recognize that our farmers and ranids are true stewards of the land and over the past decades they have always done everything possible to improve soil health and to be able to uh you know make sure that they recognize the importance of moving forward in the environmental and sustainable farming practices every farmer I talk to is focused on it and uh I just uh continue to um Advocate on their behalf on the federal level to make the feds understand that we do have the greatest farmers and ranchers in the world moving forward in those environmental practices now speaking of which where are we at when it comes to Family Farms I know a number of farmers are retiring right now are we seeing more young people wanting to get involved in the agriculture sector what kind of incentives are we may be offering the younger generation well I think one of the concerns that we do have as a provincial government something we're keeping a close eye on is the fact that the average age of a farmer Rancher right now continues to be on the rise here in Alberta and uh when we um look at opportunities for the Next Generation to move into farming and ranching uh we want to continue to uh support programs that help and that's why our um Next Generation uh loans through afsc we've made some recent changes to that to uh extend the amount available and as well the eligibility requirements to um open that up and and just try to get that door a little bit further open and continue to educate the next Generation on how much opportunity there is in the agricultural space in the future now Alberta's food processing sector is the second largest manufacturing industry here in the province and we have a lot of it right here in Southern Alberta as we discussed earlier and it's been expanding do you think we'll see that Trend continue I think that trend is going to continue uh when we talk about Alberta having uh the best uh tax jurisdiction in all of Canada uh we combined that with our Agri Pro processing investment tax credit at 12% non-refundable tax credit for those that invest 10 million or more here in the province of Alberta and that's why we've just seen so much investment happening uh between p& uh Imperial with their um biofuel Fuel and we see Cavendish McCain's expansion happening Across The Province on average we saw about a half billion dollars worth of investment happening in the province of Alberta roughly every year uh this year alone we're going to see $3.2 billion doar worth of investment come to the province and we've really become a beacon for the Agri processing investment and it's very exciting it strengthens our agricultural industry right down to the family farm which is it's very exciting and that's why I continue to Advocate to our youth about the opportunities in agriculture for the future where does Alberta rank when it comes to how much we actually produce in grains not only being exported to other provinces but around the world where do we rank like compared to Ontario Saskatchewan what do your thoughts um well I would always say that western Canada is uh the the largest of the producers in Canada we definitely are uh very important to the Canadian agricultural Market uh when you combine Alberta and Saskatchewan We Are The Lion Share of production both of cereals pulses um Alberta of course is the largest beef producer in all of Canada which is something we're very proud of but we always look at every opportunity to cons uh strengthen every agricultural industry and we look at opportunities to um strengthen um you know pulses is something that we've talked about as being um a a great opportunity for the province of Alberta and that's why we've uh seen uh a lot of investment come uh in relation to that in uh the Ludo area we have a fractionation facility that's happening there to extract pure plant protein um which is very exciting so we have lots of opportunity here in Western uh western Canada and definitely Alberta when it comes to all agricultural products now you talked a lot of farming families obviously across the province here are some of our Farmers considering Maybe doing away with certain types of traditional crops and maybe considering something more lucrative such as hemp I mean hemp is used to strengthen concrete driveways used in car parts making clothing maybe thinking outside the box a little bit yeah just recently I did a Northern Alberta Tour all the way up through the peace crunch Tre as far north as lcre to really get my feet on the ground and take a look at what's uh happening up there with farming operations and we saw some exciting uh opportunities uh around hemp and other products so we definitely look at every opportunity uh we can right now in the province to uh strengthen um any commodity that are farmers and ranchers that think that they think is viable for their area and there's certain areas of the province that hemp has a lot of opportunity and would uh I I think has uh potential in the future for everything from car parts as you mentioned right down to concrete and other uh Composites so now obviously winter just around the corner some of us are dreading it other people are pretty excited about it especially the skiers of my family but let's talk RJ specifically about the snow pack and how vital that is for our agriculture sector the snow pack is key I mean we have uh streams and rivers that are Glacier fed but definitely the snow pack is what's required to be able to uh fill our reservoirs every year those reservoirs that we rely on for industry municipalities and definitely uh irrigation uh for farms in Southern Alberta so we keep a very close eye on that snow pack as the winter progresses and we work hand inand with our irrigation districts to make sure that they've got uh um as much data and information as possible so they can manage their irrigation districts uh efficiently and effectively every single year and we also look at every opportunity as the province when we operate those reservoirs and dams to ensure that we bring them up to the levels uh necessary to support all of our industry here in the province Alberta's minister of Agriculture irrigation RG Sigerson thanks so much for joining us today from beautiful okes thank you so much Al