Unified voice means more impact

Thursday, November 12, 2009

by BRIAN LOCKHART

The newly formed Grain Farmers of Ontario expects to be a player of influence in both Ontario’s and Canada’s agricultural scene.

But the organization with the big voice is going to have to wait a little longer before it can officially speak. 

The provincial government has yet to formalize the merger of the Ontario Wheat Producers Marketing Board, Ontario Soybean Growers, and the Ontario Corn Producers Association.

“There are three sets of regulations that need to be passed,” explains Barry Senft, Grain Farmers’ CEO, “and those are scheduled for early December so we’re now targeting January 1, to have the formalization.”

In the meantime, the three organizations are still in existence and, along with the Grain Farmers, occupy the same building in Guelph.

The original organizations have retained their boards of directors. “At the same time we're moving and hiring people in the GFO model,” Senft says. “Some new hires that we're taking on are all under the new GFO model. But when it comes down to responsibility, it’s still to those respective three commodity organizations.”

Financing the new model is a shared responsibility between the three existing associations.

"We're getting our licensing revenues from the three commodities, Senft notes, adding “right from the onset” the organizations financed the transitional costs.
 
Senft says the Grain Farmers’ unified voice for Ontario’s grains and oilseeds sector will have a “significant” impact beyond provincial boundaries. “Nationally already, we are being asked for opinion on policy initiatives,” he says.

It is also preparing to play a key role in agronomics and applied agriculture research to help growers to diversify their markets.

“Given all the market access issues these days, diversification of your markets is very important.” Senft says. “You need organizations like GFO to be looking out more than just two or three years on these research initiatives.”

A board of 15 directors representing 15 districts across the province will govern the organization.

The GFO will represent 28,000 corn, soybean and wheat farmers across Ontario. BF