Process begins to bring oats and barley under Grain Farmers of Ontario umbrella

Thursday, February 19, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

People have until March 30 to comment on proposed changes to include oats and barley under Grain Farmers of Ontario grain plan and marketing regulations.

The proposal has been posted on the Ontario Regulatory Registry.

Barry Senft, Grain Farmers of Ontario CEO, says regulations are targeted to be passed by July 1.

Once the regulations are passed, oat and barley farmers will be paying a $1.75 per acre licence fee to Grain Farmers. Farm-fed grain and farmer-to-farmer sales of oats and barley are exempt.

The proposed regulation change comes after a request from oat and barley growers and an Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission producer vote. The vote was held November 2014. The majority of those who voted supported joining Grain Farmers.

Senft says the process to make regulatory changes is pretty straightforward and “we don’t foresee any issues.”

Currently oats and barley growers aren’t represented by an organization “and are missing out on some opportunities because of that,” he says.

Grain Farmers has the regulatory authority for market promotion and development, research, education and government advocacy for corn, soybeans and wheat. Once oats and barley are added to Grain Farmers’ authority, the organization will also be able to work on behalf of the two commodities in those areas, he says.

Senft adds “there is some research going on currently in oats and barley but not to the degree that we think is warranted.”

Oats and barley won’t be part of the pooling authorities granted to Grain Farmers for wheat.

That means similar to corn and soybean growers, oats and barley growers won’t have the option of selling their product to Grain Farmers, Senft says, explaining only wheat producers can voluntarily sell their wheat into the Grain Farmers’ pool.

“There was no appetite by any of the parties for GFO to be purchasing oats and barley,” he says. BF