Make RMP permanent say grain farmers

Friday, February 25, 2011

by SUSAN MANN

Ontario grain farmers’ message outlining the need for a permanent risk management program was well received by the province’s rural politicians during a recent meeting, says farm leader Don Kenny.

Kenny, the chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario, says members of the organization’s grains and oilseeds safety net committee met with the Ontario Legislature’s rural caucus Tuesday morning at Queen’s Park in Toronto to convince them the current risk management program should be made permanent.

The risk management program was introduced in 2007 as a three-year pilot. That expired
in 2009 and the program was extended for one year last year.

Most of the members of the rural caucus “are very much on side with making it a permanent program,” he notes.

Ontario Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell says by email she told the leaders at the meeting the risk management program is important and “provides participants with a sense of stability as they plan for the future.”

She says in the email “its important that we continue to have an open and honest dialogue as we work together on making the risk management program permanent.”

Kenny says they’re hoping to see money for the program included in the provincial budget to be released next month. “We’d like to see the commitment from the Liberal government in the budget coming forward.”

The Ontario Progressive Conservatives released a statement after the morning meeting saying if they’re elected in this fall’s provincial election they’d support working with the industry to implement a permanent risk management program, Kenny notes.

Mitchell says part of the work farmers and the provincial government must now do is get the federal government “on board.” Mitchell says she’s already talked to federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz about the importance of the program for Ontario farmers and she’ll continue talking to him about it.

Kenny says they’d like the federal government to be part of the program and fund its 60 per cent but farmers still want the provincial government’s commitment to fund its 40 per cent. “Hopefully the federal government will come on side,” he says.

Similar to an insurance program, farmers pay premiums for coverage under the risk management program. It protects them against uncontrollable factors, such as commodity price volatility and collapse, input cost increases and currency fluctuations.

Risk management program claims are only triggered if the market price for a commodity falls below the provincial average costs of production.

On the Agricorp website it says for the 2007, 2008 and 2009 crop years, the risk management program provided more than $50 million to Ontario grain and oilseed producers.

Without a risk management program, grains and oilseeds farmers would need to resort to lobbying for ad hoc programs to cover losses when commodity prices collapse. But Kenny says ad hoc payments are always paid after the damage has been done and they never go to the right people – the people who are hurt the most.

“Ad hoc payments just don’t work in our industry,” he says.

The program is also beneficial for the government. Kenny says. “It’s an insurance-type program and it addresses the need when it comes.”

With current commodity prices, the program’s costs would be minimal, he adds. BF