Dairy producers debate quota cap Wednesday, October 20, 2010 by SUSAN MANNA motion to put a cap on the amount of dairy quota each Ontario licence holder can have was defeated at the Dairy Farmers of Ontario fall policy conference in Alliston last week.Proposed by the Renfrew Dairy Producer Committee, the resolution initially called for the cap to be 250 kilograms per licence holder.Bill Mitchell, Dairy Farmers assistant communications director, says the motion was amended to remove the number. The motion delegates defeated was that Dairy Farmers consider incorporating a cap.There are 4,218 Ontario licences holding 268,478 kgs of quota. From 2004 to 2009 the number of licences holding more than 250 kgs increased to 2.2 per cent from 1.2 per cent. The group holding more than 250 kgs each of quota produced 13.2 per cent of the Ontario quota. “If this continues over the next five years, 4.4 per cent of the licences could produce 26.4 per cent of the quota,” it says in the conference papers.Currently there are several farmers with more than 1,000 kgs. At that level “we would only need 268 licences in Ontario,” it says in the papers.But the Renfrew Committee is concerned the industry is jeopardizing the support it gets from government by letting large producers continue to produce such a big portion of the province’s milk.Mitchell says delegates in favour of the cap said it would maintain more farms. On the other side were delegates who said farmers need to have the option to choose the farm size that allows them to be efficient.There isn’t a cap on the maximum amount of quota producers can hold. But they are required to get approval from Dairy Farmers before they exceed 150 kgs and again before exceeding each subsequent 100 kg level. The minimum amount of quota producers are required to hold is 10 kgs. Farmers in the New Entrant Quota Assistance program must hold at least 12 kgs of their own quota at all times to be eligible to continue in that program. BF Trucker obstructed livestock inspector, court rules Dairy licence fees to be raised
Twelve Ontario Agri-Businesses Receive Funding Support Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Bioenterprise Canada has announced the successful recipients of the second call for proposals under the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) Commercialization Stream. Twelve organizations across Ontario will receive support to bring innovative agri-food solutions to the... Read this article online
Early Career Research Award supports two Guelph research initiatives Tuesday, June 24, 2025 The was presented to two University of Guelph researchers at the recently held Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC) symposium. Dr. Kelsey Spence received $40,000 towards her work in on-farm biosecurity research, and Dr. Sam Workenhe was awarded $60,000 to further his... Read this article online
Rural internet speeds have improved, but compared to urban gap is wide Friday, June 20, 2025 Rural internet speeds have improved, but the gap with urban areas is still wide, says Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) - the national not-for-profit best known for managing the .CA domain. Regional differences also continue—New Brunswick shows faster speeds, while as... Read this article online
Ontario Bean Growers are having a day and you are invited Friday, June 20, 2025 The Ontario Bean Growers have announced it will be holding its annual on August 20, 2025. The day begins with research presentations at 1 pm. Details of the research presentations will be published as they become available. At 4 pm, Chris Gillard will lead attendees on a tour... Read this article online
Did you know your summer picnic watermelon might be from Ontario? Thursday, June 19, 2025 Watermelon, a fruit often linked to warmer U.S. states, is grown in southern Ontario during the summer months. In 2023, Ontario farmers produced 35,084 tonnes of watermelon, accounting for 96.7% of the total Canadian watermelon production. Sweet potatoes are another example. In... Read this article online