Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Hay donation campaign struggles

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

by SUSAN MANN

Two Renfrew County farmers each received 15 large round hay bales Tuesday as part of the first shipment in a campaign to acquire Western Canadian hay for drought-stricken farmers in Ontario.

Glenn Buck, chairman of the Mennonite Disaster Service Ontario branch, says the farmers applied through the Hay East 2012 program to get hay and then their names were picked in a lottery-style draw on Friday. Tuesday morning the farmers picked up their hay, donated by farmers in Saskatchewan, from the Cobden fairgrounds.

Recipients are paying three cents a pound for the donated hay, Buck says, noting in a normal year that’s what they’d pay for standing hay.

Buck says the Mennonite Disaster Service has pledged $10,000 for the campaign and “it’s costing us about eight cents a pound to transport now. So if we can get three cents a pound back on it that will enable us to bring in another load for another farmer.”

So far, about 150 farmers have signed up to receive hay and they’re asking for a total of 30,000 to 35,000 bales, he says. But only 200 bales have been donated to date by farmers in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The farmers looking for donations are from across Ontario and they’re mainly dairy and beef producers, but there are also sheep and goat producers on the list.

“It’s a drop in the bucket when you look at needing 30,000 bales and only 200 pledged,” Buck says, noting rains this fall didn’t provide enough precipitation to bring back the hay in Ontario farmers’ fields.

Similarly, only a few thousand dollars in cash donations have been received. Donations are accepted at any Scotiabank branch in Canada and cheques can be made payable to Hay East 2012.

Buck says they’re still looking for both hay and cash donations. The cash is being used to subsidize the hay trucking from Western Canada.

Hay East 2012 is a partnership involving several Canadian farm organizations and the Mennonite Disaster Service. The program is a follow up to the Hay West campaign in 2002 where Eastern Canadian farmers sent hay to Western Canada to alleviate the effects of that region’s drought. Buck says during that campaign, 60,000 large square bales went west from Ontario and Quebec.

The group of Hay East organizers is talking to railway companies, CN and CP, to try and get donated rail car space “so we can bring it (the hay) much more cheaply,” Buck says. They’re also requesting the federal and provincial governments help subsidize transportation costs. BF

Current Issue

March 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Farmer Planting Decisions for 2025 Taking Shape

Thursday, March 13, 2025

As farmers across Canada prepare for the 2025 crop year, Statistics Canada says their planting decisions reflect a complex mix of factors including moisture conditions, crop rotation considerations, and market prices. Nationally, farmers are expected to plant more wheat, corn for... Read this article online

Grain Growers of Sounding the Alarm Over U.S. Tariffs

Monday, March 10, 2025

Not surprisingly, the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) is raising concerns over the United States' decision to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian grain and grain products, a move that could jeopardize the livelihoods of family-run grain farms and lead to higher food prices for American... Read this article online

International Women’s Day – Angela Cammaert

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, Farms.com is asking women in ag about what they’d tell their younger selves about being a farmer, to give a piece of advice to young women entering the ag sector, and to highlight a woman in agriculture they consider a mentor or... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top