Ontario farmers are becoming an endangered species

Monday, October 3, 2011

Under constant pressure from rising costs and tighter regulations, Ontario farms are dwindling in number and struggling to survive

by JIM DALRYMPLE

Where are Ontario's agriculture, our farmers and our food supply headed?
Recent legislation has allowed for adding of more and more plants, animals and insects under endangered species laws. Included are bobolinks, wood turtles, loggerhead shrikes, certain snakes and most recently the possibility that others would be added, including meadowlarks.

While coyotes, deer, elk and bears, as well as Canada geese, play havoc with farm animals and farm crops, there is increasing pressure from environmentalists to protect these nuisances.

Agriculture has seen its land base shrink, while the population to be fed continues to increase. The recent 2011 report from the National Farmers Union, "Farms, Farmers and Agriculture in Ontario," reports that the amount of land being farmed in Ontario has decreased 42 per cent since 1921, while the population has increased from 2.9 million to over 13 million. Ontario has lost more than nine million acres of farmland over that period.

July 2011 statistics show only 5.9 per cent of Ontario's land is in census farms. There were almost four times as many farms in 1921 than today and the number of young farmers has been steadily decreasing.

Many farm commodities have seen little increase in their farm gate prices for decades, while labour rates have escalated under provincial legislation, hydro rates have dramatically increased, increased legislation has been put in place for health and safety, and input costs for feed, fertilizer and pesticides have risen. Livestock and poultry farmers have seen dramatic increases in feed costs with the advent of crops being diverted to ethanol production. Feed can account for up to 60 per cent of the cost of production. Seed costs have doubled in the past 15 years.

As well, the price of farmland has escalated. Today grower pesticide courses, nutrient management courses, and courses on antibiotic use all add to the cost of food production.

In June this year, while Ontario strawberries were in abundance, many large food stores were still selling California strawberries.

In the mid-1960s, a farmer could purchase a Datsun truck for $2,079 with taxes at three per cent. That same truck today, although it has many added extras, is likely eight to 10 times the price and has more than four times the tax. Insurance has increased dramatically, not to mention fuel costs.

Recent reports from the Farm Credit Corporation indicate farmland values were up 2.4 per cent in just the last six months. Property and water rights are coming under increased surveillance and can further affect a farmer's livelihood.

In the mid-1960s, pork prices were above $80 per 100 kilograms of dressed pork, while until a few months ago they have only been marginally higher. In 1967, the Datsun farm truck could be purchased with the sale of 26 market pigs. Today, a truck for farm use requires the sale of over 150 pigs.

Only 1,400 bushels of corn were needed to purchase that Datsun truck in the 1960s, compared to more than 6,000 bushels to purchase a farm truck today. Gas prices to drive that truck have increased several hundred per cent.

While emphasis is being placed on the value of "local food" production, more and more of Ontario's food supply is coming from outside Canada and North America where, in many cases, there are little or no labour standards set, fewer environmental requirements and fewer restrictions on pesticide, fertilizer and antibiotic use.

All commodities have seen a dramatic decline in their farm numbers. Increased pressure by animal welfarists on the housing, management and biosecurity of pigs and poultry will add to their production costs. Cage laying systems have increased production efficiency, reduced labour requirements, improved flock health and improved manure handling, but increased pressure for the use of nesting boxes and free-run or free-range production will further add to costs.

Over the past half-century, the number of farms in Ontario has declined by almost two-thirds. The most dramatic decline is in dairy and pork production units.

Many countries in the world have seen the cost of food increase dramatically, but wholesome foods have not shown such increases in Ontario. In Canada, we spend only about 10 per cent of our disposable income on home-prepared foods.

Meanwhile, the provincial budget for agriculture has decreased from 1.82 per cent of total government spending in 1972 to 0.86 per cent in 2010, while expenditure on health has gone from 18.78 per cent to 36.5 per cent. Federal government support for the agriculture and food industry has similarly decreased.   

Will Ontario farmers survive as imported food percentages increase? What will an increase in regulations and rising input costs mean to farmers? Recent animal welfare investigations suggest that the Ontario SPCA is in control of farming practices and not the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Similarly, the Ministry of Natural Resources, with increased regulation under the Endangered Species Act, has had an impact on farmers' livelihoods. The Ministry of the Environment is concerned about manure spills at the farm level, but cities like Ottawa release millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Ottawa River with little apparent concern.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is advocating a long-term vision and a National Food Strategy to ensure a safe supply of Canadian food for future generations. BF

Jim Dalrymple is president of Livestock
Technology Services in Brighton.