Largest general farm organization calls for a fee increase

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

by DON STONEMAN

Delegates heard that the $150 annual fee per farm business hadn’t been increased since “stable funding” was brought into place under an NDP government in 1993. Meanwhile, the number of farm businesses registered with the OFA has fallen to about 38,000 from more than 44,000. Revenue went with it.

At current funding levels, the OFA’s efforts “are not sustainable,” Kamenz said. “We have vacancies that we can’t afford to fill,” he told Better Farming. The OFA’s budget remains balanced for the last couple of years because of patronage payments from The Co-operators insurance company. While this year the OFA has budgeted to receive $240,000 from the insurance carrier, actual patronage payments will likely total half a million dollars, he said.

The $45 fee increase is based upon increases in the consumer price index since 1993. Raising the fee fate would require changing a regulation connected to the provincial Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding Act.

“We need the financial means to go forward,” asserted Russell farmer Rejean Pommainville.

While a number of delegates griped about “freeloaders” — farmers who opt to get their farm business registration fee back — Kamenz said refund levels are now so low they are a “non-issue.” (The first year the farm business registration came into place, 20 per cent of those who registered with the OFA asked for their money back. In contrast, by this February the refund rate for 2008 was 2.8 per cent on more than 23,000 registrations).

Some livestock producers complained that the fee increase was too much at once and came at a bad time.

“There is no such thing as a good time to have an increase,” asserted Joe Dickenson, past-president of the Junior Farmers of Ontario and a beef farmer. Agriculture in Ontario is “too vast and varied.”

The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario has a mandate to enter into talks about increasing fees since the annual general meeting in November of 2006, said general manager John Clement. Roughly 4,400 farm businesses registered with Christian Farmers last year.

The National Farmers Union doesn’t want a fee increase and won’t take one unless “we are forced by the government to raise it,” said Grant Robertson, Paisley, leader of the organization’s Ontario branch. “We would have to find ways to deal with that but that would be a long way down the road.”

“It is the wrong time to be going to farmers to deal with this.”

Robertson said the NFU had about 2,000 business memberships last year and expects an 11-12 per cent increase this year.

A proposal for a variable fee, depending upon the size of the farm, was also debated at the OFA meeting but failed to get wide support.

What are the next steps? A spokesperson for the provincial minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs promised to respond to questions posed next week. BF