Growing" costs for Canadian farmers : Coût croissant pour le agriculteur canadiens

Germain, P. C. Ex-officio members of the committee: The Honourable Céline Hervieux-Payette (or Claudette Tardif) and Marjory LeBreton (or Gerald Comeau) In addition, the Honourable Senators Chaput, Campbell, Hubley, Nolin and Oliver were members of the committee for this special study during the 2nd session of the 39th Parliament. [...] The last section looks at institutional factors, such as the regulatory regime and the level of concentration in farm input supply industries, as potential contributors to the increase in input prices. [...] As the representative of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture testified before the Committee, fuel, fertilizer, and seeds alone make up a large portion of the investment for a farmer in the grain and oilseed sector. [...] In this regard, witnesses suggested several possibilities: • Enhance the advance payment programs for grain growers – for example, by moving the cash advance program up earlier in the year so that producers can take advantage of the lower fertilizer prices in the fall; • Remove the excise tax on fuel for farm use; • Increase the investment tax credit or the capital cost allowance to help farmers u [...] Given the importance attached to the level of industry concentration in the Competition Bureau’s Guidelines as these pertain to evaluating the existence of “abuse of dominance,” the Committee believes that there is a need for a study on the level of industry concentration in the fertilizer manufacturing industry.