Ontario introduces proposal system for wind energy Wednesday, December 4, 2013 by SUSAN MANN The Ontario government plans to introduce a new type of procurement for wind energy next year, says Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli. The new procurement will start in the first quarter of 2014 and be based on a request or proposal system. The procurement for wind will be more targeted and controlled than it was under the Feed in Tariff (FIT) program. “We’ve taken wind out of the FIT program,” he told southwestern Ontario reporters during a telephone press conference Wednesday afternoon held to discuss the government’s recently released long term energy plan. To win a contract, successful companies will need to have a “significant engagement with the municipality where it’s going to be sited,” he says. Municipalities won’t have an absolute veto on wind energy projects going into their area, but it will be very difficult for a “proponent to win a contact.” Chiarelli says municipalities aren’t given an absolute veto because there are times when generation capacity or transmission lines must be planned regionally whether the energy is renewable or not. If two or three connected municipalities had a veto over energy infrastructure, “you wouldn’t be able to move a transmission line across a county or even across two counties. There has to be some fail safe way for us to say, ‘Everybody’s got to do their share.’” In the current energy mix used and distributed in Ontario, renewable energy including wind represents less than four per cent, Chiarelli says. Another initiative in the government’s long-term energy plan is financial help for municipalities to generate energy plans. Municipalities must realize that if they’re going to expand subdivisions and build new commercial/industrial property, that will need more electricity and they can’t simply say they’ll let the generation happen in someone else’s backyard, he explains. “There has to be a certain merging of energy planning between the municipal sector and the provincial sector. This new long term plan creates that marriage of planning,” he says. BF Guilty: jury convicts Pigeon King of fraud Ontario's revamped energy plan has an ag focus
Poll Reveals Mixed Public Sentiment on BC Ostrich Cull Decision Thursday, October 2, 2025 Farms.com poll shows divided opinions among Canadian farmers on the Supreme Court’s decision to halt the ostrich cull. A recent poll conducted on Farms.com's X account @OntAg aimed to capture Canadian farmers' views on the Supreme Court’s decision to halt the ostrich cull in British... Read this article online
New Ontario agrobotics challenge seeking high school submissions Thursday, October 2, 2025 A new competition for Ontario high school students is looking for innovative ways to solve challenges in the ag sector. The AgRobotics Ontario Challenge launched at the end of September. The competition is a collaboration between the Western Fair District, the Ontario Council for... Read this article online
Canada Post Strike Continues to Threatens Agri-Businesses and Rural Communities Thursday, October 2, 2025 The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling on the federal government to take swift action to end the ongoing Canada Post strike, warning that the disruption is causing serious harm to small businesses – including many in the agriculture sector. “The government’s... Read this article online
Farmland Values Climb Across the Prairies-Manitoba Leads, Ontario Holds Steady Thursday, October 2, 2025 Canadian cultivated farmland values rose by an average of 6.0 per cent in the first half of 2025, according to the mid-year farmland values review by Farm Credit Canada (FCC). This marks a modest acceleration compared to the first half of 2024, which saw a 5.5 per cent increase. Over... Read this article online
Setting Foundations for Higher Yielding Soybeans Wednesday, October 1, 2025 Farmers can achieve higher soybean yields by focusing on strong foundations and careful field management according to Shaun Casteel, Extension Soybean Specialist from Purdue University, who spoke at the in August. He emphasized that no single method guarantees success—each field... Read this article online