Conservative majority doesn't faze farm groups Monday, May 2, 2011 by BETTER FARMING STAFFOntario farm groups remain hopeful they will convince the federal government to help fund a new provincial production farm risk management program.In a Tuesday news release, Ontario beef, pork and grains and oilseed farmers congratulated the federal Conservatives on their election win and urged them to commit to funding a share of the Ontario Risk Management Program.However, in February, federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced his party had no intention of making fundamental changes to the business risk management programs that are currently included in the five-year national agricultural policy framework. The policy expires in 2013 but Ontario farm groups want to see changes sooner than that.“It’s not going to be easy,” to convince the Conservatives to change their minds and embrace the program endorsed by the Ontario government in March, says Leo Guilbeault, chair of the Ontario Grains & Oilseeds committee. “We’re going to keep plugging away; we have to,” he says. “Risk management; we know it works in Ontario and we know it’s a different animal federally across the country so we’re going to sit back and maybe re-analyze our strategy and then go to work from there.”Another challenge the group has on its hands is convincing farmers to enroll in the industry-developed program. Numbers from Agricorp, the provincial crown corporation that runs the program for Ontario's grains and oilseeds farmers, show only 5,900 enrolled in the program in 2010. That’s a drop of more than half from the 12,200 that enrolled when the pilot was first launched in 2007.“It has a lot to do with the (high) market prices right now,” says Guilbeault, noting, “there’s quite a bit of difference” from when the program was first proposed. “Now there’s going to be a full-time program, we’ll have some triggers in there that will hopefully keep participation up.”“Prices aren’t going to stay where they’re at,” he predicts.Along with grains and oilseeds, the provincially-funded program will cover cattle, hog, sheep and veal producers and offer a self-directed risk management program for fruits and vegetables. BF Solar rules too restrictive say Ontario's Fruit and Vegetable Growers Canada fleabane glyphosate resistance confirmed
Lambton Cattlemen’s Association preparing community pastures presentation Tuesday, March 18, 2025 A local Ontario livestock organization will be making its case for a community pasture next month. The Lambton Cattlemen’s Association will make a presentation to the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority on April 17 about turning about 200 of 600 available acres into a community... Read this article online
Ontario sees modest growth in farmland value compared to the rest of Canada Tuesday, March 18, 2025 Ontario saw modest growth in farmland value compared to the rest of the nation, with average cultivated farmland values rising by 3.1% in 2024. This marks a slowdown after a 10.7% increase in 2023 and a 19.4% rise in 2022. The slower growth was observed across most of the province,... Read this article online
Chinese Tariffs Are Squeezing Canadian Grain and Oilseeds Friday, March 14, 2025 By Aleah Harle, Farms.com Risk Management Intern On March 8, 2025, China announced steep retaliatory tariffs on $2.6 billion worth of Canadian agricultural products in response to Canada’s October tariffs of 100% on Chinese EVs, and 25% on steel, and aluminum. These newly... Read this article online
Canada proactively purchases 500,000 doses of a human vaccine against bird flu Friday, March 14, 2025 By Liam Nolan Canada’s agricultural industry continues to monitor the spread of Avian Influenza (AI). The H5N1 HPAI was first reported in Canada in December 2021, below is an update on recent developments. Avian influenza, or bird flu, continues to impact poultry farms... Read this article online
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