Grain Growers of Canada asks Ottawa for diesel rebate

Grain Growers of Canada is asking the federal government for a 50-cent-per-litre emergency diesel rebate, saying this year's fuel costs are adding roughly $17,000 per combine to what grain farmers paid for harvest last year.

In a letter to Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne dated Oct. 1, GGC Chair Scott Hepworth called for a temporary Federal Emergency Diesel Relief Fund for Food Producers that would pay 50 cents per litre on diesel purchased for eligible agricultural production activities during a period of exceptional fuel prices.

The letter illustrates the cost at the farm level: a Class 8 combine consuming 70 litres of diesel per hour, running eight hours a day for 30 harvest days, uses about 16,800 litres. At $1.10 per litre, that fuel bill comes to $18,480. At $2.10 per litre, the same work costs $35,280 — an additional $16,800 for one combine alone. At the proposed rebate rate, relief on 16,800 litres would total $8,400 per combine.

Kate Sauser, who was appointed GGC's interim executive director effective Oct. 14 following the resignation of Bruce Burrows, put the gap in starker terms in a RealAg Radio interview published Oct. 21.

"It's really honestly just a tough time for Canadian farmers to have to deal with such a huge increase in diesel prices," Sauser said during the interview. "If you're looking at a Class 7/8 combine that runs 30 days of harvest about 8 hours a day, you're paying about $17,000 more this year for one combine than you'd be paying last year for that exact same combine."

Sauser said the calculation does not capture the full picture. "That doesn't take into consideration your grain cart, your semis, your pickup truck ripping back and forth to the farm," she said. "So obviously there's lots that goes into it that is an incurred cost over last year."

She said farmers have little room to absorb the increases. "We are price takers and we can't deliver that down to the next consumer," Sauser said.

GGC represents more than 100,000 grain producers through 15 national, provincial and regional grower organizations, according to the Oct. 20 release. Members farm 120 million acres and generate $45 billion in export value annually, the organization said.

Hepworth's letter asks that the rebate cover diesel used for seeding, field operations, harvesting and on-farm grain handling, and that payments be delivered promptly enough to provide meaningful cash-flow relief within the affected season. The letter urges the government to act at the earliest opportunity and, if funding has not already been established, to provide for it in Budget 2027.

The federal Department of Finance announced Oct. 21 that Champagne will table Budget 2026 on Nov. 5. The Alberta Farmer Express reported Oct. 22 that GGC is pushing for the relief to be included in that budget if no earlier funding is available.

The RealAg Radio interview also referenced a recent US$8-billion package announced by U.S. President Donald Trump to assist American farmers with affordability pressures, which Sauser cited as a comparator for what Canadian producers are seeking from Ottawa.

Sauser told RealAg Radio that some farmers have suggested on-farm fuel storage programs could also help. "I've had a couple farmers that have suggested that what would help as well is maybe some sort of programme for increased on-farm fuel storage," she said.

Budget 2026 is scheduled to be tabled in the House of Commons on Nov. 5.