It's time for a new approach to farm property assessment says OFA Wednesday, December 18, 2013 by SUSAN MANN The Ontario Federation of Agriculture recommends the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation use a different model to determine farm property values. Currently there aren’t enough farm sales in many areas “to get a real value on land,” says president Mark Wales, who met with MPAC board chair Dan Mathieson earlier this week. The federation also made the same presentation to the parliamentary assistant for Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa. Farmland in Ontario is assessed based on farmer-to-farmer sales and according to the farmland’s productive value. MPAC is the organization in Ontario that does property assessments across the province. The assessments are used by municipalities to calculate property taxes. “We’re proposing some different models on how they can get more of an average value rather than values that are all over the map,” says Wales, noting the presentations to various officials is in preparation for the pre-provincial budget submission both the federation and MPAC will be making. Wales says many of the changes the federation is suggesting are “operational changes.” Wales says he can’t get into more details about what they’re suggesting because it first has to be presented as part of the pre-budget process. BF Bee expert joins University of Guelph Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission releases long awaited egg industry report
Health Canada sets rules for drone spraying Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Health Canada has approved the use of drones, also called Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), for pesticide application under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). Drones are considered aircraft by Transport Canada, but Health Canada treats them differently due to their unique... Read this article online
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