WSIB premiums increase Thursday, January 3, 2013 by SUSAN MANN Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board premium rates for all employer rate groups including the farming ones went up by 2.5 per cent this year. Lynden-area horticultural farmer Ken Forth says nobody wants an increase “but it’s pretty marginal.” Workplace Safety and Insurance Board spokesperson Christine Arnott says the increase went into effect Jan. 1. In a press release last October announcing the rate change, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board chair Elizabeth Witmer says the increase is necessary to reduce the organization’s unfunded liability, which has grown to $14.2 billion. While the premium rate increase may add costs today, the retirement of the unfunded liability will result in lower premiums and strengthen the competitiveness for Ontario businesses in the longer term, she says. Forth says costs, such as medical care, treatments plus rehabilitation programs, have skyrocketed during the past 20 years. “That’s also why there’s an unfunded liability too. The costs just went up and they (WSIB) did not put the rates up to keep up with that problem.” Still Forth, a former director of agriculture for WSIB, says it’s an insurance system that actually does work. “There are a lot of dedicated people who really do a hell of a good job.” He notes that the premiums apply to not only full-time, year-round employees but also seasonal agricultural workers who come to Canada as part of the seasonal agricultural worker program. For every $100 of payroll, the rate changes in 2013 compared to 2012 are: Livestock farms – $7.09 from $6.92, Field crops along with fruit and vegetable operations – $2.84 from $2.77 Tobacco and mushroom farms – $5.15 from $5.03 Fishing and miscellaneous farms – $3.67 from $3.58 Poultry farms and agricultural services – $3.27 from $3.19 BF Ontario's agriculture industry weighs sweet study Working together to save the indispensable honey bee
2025 Election Results Prompt Concern and Reflection Among Prairie Farmers Tuesday, May 6, 2025 Users on Agriville.com weigh-in on the 2025 federal election outcome As news broke that Mark Carney’s Liberals had won the 2025 federal election, many western Canadian farmers on Agriville.com shared their reactions. The mood was largely one of disappointment, with concerns about the... Read this article online
Mother’s Day Q&A with Davina Garner Tuesday, May 6, 2025 Mother’s Day is this Sunday (don’t say we didn’t remind you), and all this week Farms.com is connecting with moms in the ag sector for a Q&A about motherhood, what makes it great, and what makes it tough. Davina Garner (DG) and her husband Kurtis run a dairy and cash crop farm in Embro,... Read this article online
OFA viewpoint on growing future farmers Tuesday, May 6, 2025 Agriculture is arguably among the most important industries we have. Not only is it one of the biggest sectors of the Ontario and Canadian economies, but it’s also fundamental to our very existence. After all, everyone has to eat—and in Ontario, we’re luckier than most in the wide... Read this article online
Looking for the Perfect Mother’s Day Gift for Women who work in Agriculture? Friday, May 2, 2025 Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and what better way to show appreciation for the incredible women in agriculture than by supporting products and services created by women in agriculture? Whether she’s managing livestock, growing crops, running a farm-based business—or all of... Read this article online
FCC Predicts Canadian Farmers will Wait to Buy New Farm Equipment Thursday, May 1, 2025 This year may not be the year to buy a brand-new John Deere X Series combine. No matter how great it would be to raise harvest capacity by 45 percent, Canadian farmers may put off their purchase until later. Rising farm equipment prices due to trade disruptions will alter farmers'... Read this article online