Brampton farmer disputes quota transfer policy Friday, March 23, 2012 by SUSAN MANNBrampton-area dairy farmer Alan Cunnington wants to transfer all of his 23 kilograms of quota to his daughter but Dairy Farmers of Ontario policy prohibits this kind of transfer.That’s because his daughter, Leanne Chesmond, is married to a dairy farmer, Tomas, and DFO policy states that children who hold quota or purchase quota as part of an on-going operation or purchase quota on an exchange aren’t eligible to receive a quota transfer from a parent.“I could have transferred it to her if she wasn’t married to a dairy farmer,” he explains, noting DFO’s policy is wrong.Cunnington has gone through hearings and reconsideration hearings with DFO board and staff and was told he still couldn’t do the transfer. He’s taking his case to the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal. The hearing is scheduled for April 3 at 9:30 a.m. in Guelph.The family has been planning for 10 years that Leanne would take over the Cunnington operation. Cunnington had planned to retire from dairy farming.“The timing is right,” he says. Leanne and Tomas farm with Tomas’s parents near Arthur where they built a new barn that’s now up and running. “The line of thought was our cows would go there.”Cunnington says he thinks within family quota transfers should be allowed. “If you can’t give it to your children what’s the point in doing all this? Farmers typically work most of their lives and pass it on to their next generation. They have done that forever.” BF Crop prices drop in January Ontario grower to head national council
A new front in the repair access debate Friday, March 13, 2026 Iowa lawmakers have pushed the right‑to‑repair conversation into new territory with House File 2529, a bill that focuses specifically on diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems—the single most common cause of emissions-related downtime on modern farm machinery. The bill would require... Read this article online
Senators examine Canada’s food system firsthand during southwestern Ontario fact finding mission Thursday, March 12, 2026 A delegation of Canadian senators conducted a full day fact finding mission on Friday, March 6, 2026, visiting several major food system organizations and research facilities across Southwestern Ontario. The tour supported the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry’s ongoing... Read this article online
Middle East conflict pushes fertilizer costs higher, forcing Ontario growers to rethink corn acres Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Ontario farmers are bracing for a turbulent spring as fertilizer and fuel prices surge in response to the escalating conflict involving Iran, a development that analysts say could reshape planting decisions across North America. The spike in nitrogen costs—the most critical and... Read this article online
March 8 is International Women’s Day Friday, March 6, 2026 Across the United States and Canada, women are taking on increasingly visible roles in agriculture—managing farms, leading ag-tech startups, advancing research, and strengthening the rural economies that feed both nations. Their work reflects a shift in an industry once defined... Read this article online
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to Visit Toronto and Southwestern Ontario Tuesday, March 3, 2026 The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will be in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario later this week as part of its ongoing study on the role of Canada’s agriculture and agri‑food sector in strengthening national food security. The fact‑finding mission is scheduled for... Read this article online