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.


Conservative majority doesn't faze farm groups

Monday, May 2, 2011

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

Ontario 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
 

Current Issue

September 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Corn and Soybean Diseases Spread This Season

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

As reported on the OMAFRA website fieldcropnews.com, as well as in previous articles by Farms.com, the 2025 growing season is nearing its end with corn and soybean farmers in Ontario and the U.S. Corn Belt facing disease challenges that reflect changing weather conditions. For corn, two... Read this article online

Wheat Output Decline Projected for 2025

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Statistics Canada’s latest modelled estimates suggest that wheat production in Canada will decline slightly in 2025, driven primarily by weaker yields across several regions. National output is expected to edge down 1.1% to 35.5 million tonnes, with yields forecast to fall 1.2% to 49.6... Read this article online

Research Projects and Companies Supported Through OAFRI

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario have announced an investment of up to $4.77 million to strengthen the province’s agri-food sector. This funding, delivered through the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable... Read this article online

First Northern Cohort Joins Ontario Vet Program

Thursday, September 4, 2025

This September, the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph welcomed its inaugural Northern Cohort of 20 students through the Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program (CDVMP). This initiative, created in partnership with Lakehead University, marks a milestone... 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