That Was Close

I nearly had to go back to harvesting but right on cue, as the swaths were almost dry enough to sample, the clouds rolled in and light rain started. Turning to snow tonight they say. Why not? The swaths can't get any wetter. Every day gets a little shorter at this time of year. And with the unseasonable cold temps there is a very slow drying process happening. We need several good drying days to get the seed dry enough to store. I don't own a dryer or I'd be finished likely. Big dryers are expensive. Old small ones can take a lot of fixing and expensive repairs. And they all burn propane. Except the ones that burn natural gas. Carbon tax? Sorry folks, I'd really like to burn less fossil fuel (and money) but the only way to do that is to stop growing crops.
Picture from a few years ago in a more normal year of good weather.

Carbon Tax

I'm familiar with the concept you have to spend money to make money in this farming business. But a news interview this morning suggested that by paying the liberal's proposed carbon tax, we will actually get more money back than what we paid in. ?? How is that possible? If I'm going to have to pay more for the fuel I burn farming, heating my home and transporting my product to market, how is that good for me?
The proposed carbon tax starting next January will be $20 a tonne. So many tonnes of carbon do I have? Or produce? Just how do they figure out this magical formula that will make some of us rich by spending our money on a carbon tax? It sounds like one of those schemes where you just hand over your money and trust the government to take care of it.
Link to the National Post article.
Carbon Tax Will Pay?

Carbon Tax

I probably should not even comment on the carbon tax that will eventually be imposed on us in spite of our premier refusing to sign on. But CBC keeps bringing on the experts telling us how beneficial it is going to be for us. Apparently all the money we pay as a carbon tax will be given back to us in some other yet to be defined form.
They are talking a tax of $20 a ton for now and increasing to $50 a ton by 2022. First of all how do you measure a ton of carbon? How do I know when I have produced a ton of carbon to be taxed on? How do I slow down my production of carbon and thereby save myself money? Stop driving? Stop farming my land thereby reducing fuel and tax? There are way more questions than answers so far.
If they really want to sell us on this wonderful new tax that is going to save the planet, they need to give us a little more information. At this point it sounds like more smoke and mirrors designed to squeeze more tax dollars out of us.
I guess I am part of the problem. Now I have to get back to work producing more carbon as I feed my cattle.

Carbon Tax

Very interesting open letter here written by a Sask. farmer stating how the govt. proposed carbon tax will affect us. I've seen the comments somewhere that businesses will handle it by simply passing on the extra expense to their customers. I guess that works ok for all the businesses that we have to buy our farm supplies from. But how do we , the farmers pass that extra cost on to our customers? I'm sure if I mention it to Cargill or Viterra that I need a few extra cents per bushel to cover the cost of the additional tax I"m paying they will just laugh. Historically we have been price takers, not price makers.
Anyway, its not carved in stone yet and our provincial government is fighting for us with this petition  to sign.
No real news on the harvest front. Sunshine has been almost non existent the month of October. Hardly a day with the humidity below 70 percent and up around 90 overnight. There is just so much moisture in the climate that our short days can't dry it up before the next rain or snow shower.
Got the last of the hay bales hauled home from the hundred acre woods on the weekend on one of the rare sunny and almost warm days we have had this month. The next day it rained.