Ontario minister wants feds to consider disaster relief for farmers wrestling drought Wednesday, August 1, 2012 by SUSAN MANN Ontario Agriculture Minister Ted McMeekin has requested the federal government start the process to provide disaster relief for livestock and other farmers affected by dry weather. Mark Cripps, McMeekin’s press secretary, says the formal request, sent by letter Monday, “triggers an assessment process to determine if additional financial support should be made available.” The financial assistance would be part of the AgriRecovery program, one of the business risk management programs in Growing Forward, the country’s agricultural policy framework. It would be in addition to any payments farmers get as part of crop insurance, AgriStability or any other government programs. The federal government provides 60 per cent of the funding for AgriRecovery, while the province kicks in the other 40 per cent. The process would be to determine if there’s “anything else we could possible do aside from the current suite of programs that are currently available to address what we’re seeing today, which is a very difficult situation,” Cripps says. McMeekin was at two farms in eastern Ontario Tuesday, one in Renfrew County and one in North Gower, along with several farm leaders and municipal officials to see the drought damage first hand. Last week McMeekin toured a farm in Niagara Region. Cripps says the minister was adamant that he wanted to tour drought-stricken areas in eastern Ontario. “He made no bones about the fact that he wanted to be out here.” Cripps says the corn they saw on Tuesday was “barely a foot off the ground and there’s whole fields where there’s not a single cob.” Livestock farmers are particularly in need of help because pastures are dried up and yields are down in hay fields with farmers having to start feeding their stored winter feed now. The minister also requested the federal government accelerate the identification of prescribed drought regions and that gives livestock farmers opportunities to receive more favourable tax treatment, Cripps says. Prescribed drought region identification is usually done in late September. For farmers deciding to cull their herd because a shortage of feed, they can defer some of that revenue to a different tax year “so they don’t take the tax hit on it this year,” he says. The identification of the drought regions also means farmers coverage under AgriStability is also preserved. Last week, the minister said it was too early to say if the drought situation in Ontario is a disaster, but Cripps says there’s a lot of stress out there and the minister thought it was important to start the assessments for AgriRecovery now. BF Behind the Lines - August/September 2012 Raw milk appeal to go ahead
Lynmark Farms named Master Breeder for 2025 Wednesday, March 26, 2025 The Canadian Milking Shorthorn Society has announced that Lynmark Farms has been named as a herd for 2025. Lynmark Farms is owned and operated by Tim Shearer and Irene Vietinghoff of Norwood, Ontario. They are the third Milking Shorthorn herd to be recognized as a since this... Read this article online
Ontario Mega Farm Faces Market Chill Wednesday, March 26, 2025 A large working farm in Ontario, one of the province’s biggest on the market, is facing difficulties finding a buyer. Listed at $72.1 million, the 2,300-acre property is located near Lake Erie in Elgin County, spanning both Malahide Township and Central Elgin. Despite its prime agricultural... Read this article online
It’s been a while… Tuesday, March 25, 2025 The International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) is coming to the Niagara Region this fall, providing a unique opportunity to showcase the community’s agricultural diversity and natural beauty. The annual event is hosted in a different community each year, with this year’s... Read this article online
Nutrien Ag Solutions launches its 2025 Hometown Yield Challenge Monday, March 24, 2025 Nutrien Ag Solutions has launched its second year of the , and is again available to growers in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Nutrien Ag Solutions is the retail division of Nutrien Ltd., a leading global provider of crop inputs and services. Enrollment is open until April 11,... Read this article online
Canada Supports Farmers Following Tariffs by China Monday, March 24, 2025 The Canadian Government has announced a significant proposal to enhance farmer supports under the AgriStability program. The new plan includes increasing the compensation rate from 80% to 90% and temporarily doubling the payment cap to $6 million for the 2025 program year. This proposal... Read this article online