WSIB premiums increase Thursday, January 3, 2013 by SUSAN MANN Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board premium rates for all employer rate groups including the farming ones went up by 2.5 per cent this year. Lynden-area horticultural farmer Ken Forth says nobody wants an increase “but it’s pretty marginal.” Workplace Safety and Insurance Board spokesperson Christine Arnott says the increase went into effect Jan. 1. In a press release last October announcing the rate change, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board chair Elizabeth Witmer says the increase is necessary to reduce the organization’s unfunded liability, which has grown to $14.2 billion. While the premium rate increase may add costs today, the retirement of the unfunded liability will result in lower premiums and strengthen the competitiveness for Ontario businesses in the longer term, she says. Forth says costs, such as medical care, treatments plus rehabilitation programs, have skyrocketed during the past 20 years. “That’s also why there’s an unfunded liability too. The costs just went up and they (WSIB) did not put the rates up to keep up with that problem.” Still Forth, a former director of agriculture for WSIB, says it’s an insurance system that actually does work. “There are a lot of dedicated people who really do a hell of a good job.” He notes that the premiums apply to not only full-time, year-round employees but also seasonal agricultural workers who come to Canada as part of the seasonal agricultural worker program. For every $100 of payroll, the rate changes in 2013 compared to 2012 are: Livestock farms – $7.09 from $6.92, Field crops along with fruit and vegetable operations – $2.84 from $2.77 Tobacco and mushroom farms – $5.15 from $5.03 Fishing and miscellaneous farms – $3.67 from $3.58 Poultry farms and agricultural services – $3.27 from $3.19 BF Ontario's agriculture industry weighs sweet study Working together to save the indispensable honey bee
Stinger Spade Bits kit from Spyder Friday, September 20, 2024 By Braxteen Breen, Whether you are constructing/repairing fencing and other structures around the farm, you can get those tasks completed on the farm quickly with the Stinger Spade Bits kit from Spyder. The Spade Bits kit provides an economical solution for someone who wants to make... Read this article online
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BASF introduces Surtain herbicide for field corn growers Tuesday, September 17, 2024 Field corn growers in eastern Canada have a new crop protection product available to them. After about 10 years of research and trials, BASF has introduced Surtain, a residual herbicide for corn that combines PPO inhibitor saflufenacil (Group 14) and pyroxasulfone (Group 15) in a premix... Read this article online
We Didn’t Start the Fire! Impacts of Wildfire Smoke on Corn Monday, September 16, 2024 Assistant Professor of Corn Production at Purdue University’s College of Agriculture, Daniel Quinn, PhD. recently provided fascinating insights into the impacts of fire on major corn producing areas, many of which have been impacted by smoke from wildfires. Quinn was the keynote... Read this article online
New home for the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario Saturday, September 14, 2024 The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (CFFO) has announced it has moved into its new office building in Ingersoll. Located at 274620 27th Line in Ingersoll, the new office will serve as the hub for CFFO’s ongoing efforts to advocate for and support Ontario’s Christian farmers.... Read this article online