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The CFFO Commentary: Keeping Farm Issues on the Election Agenda

By Nathan Stevens

September 30, 2011

 

In just a few short days many Ontarians will be heading to the polls in order to cast their vote in this year’s provincial election. There are serious issues for rural Ontario as they head to the ballot box on election day. The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario has a number of issues that we feel need to be addressed by our future government.

 

The Christian Farmers strongly supports Environmental Goods and Services. We hope that… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on September 30, 2011 at 10:41am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Discussing the Merits and Reforms of Marketing Systems

By John Clement

September 23, 2011

 

Over the past few weeks, my colleague Nathan Stevens has been discussing different dimensions of supply managed marketing systems for agricultural products. In particular, he’s been responding to comments made by Andrew Coyne, a columnist for MacLean’s magazine. As the commentary series progressed, we had a number of readers correspond with us about why the organization chooses to become involved in a debate about supply… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on September 23, 2011 at 10:41am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: The $25,000 Cow - The Rest of the Story (part 3)

By Nathan Stevens

September 16, 2011

 

Andrew Coyne, one of Canada’s most respected journalists, has garnered a lot of attention in his recent article in Maclean’s that turned a harsh eye towards supply management. He makes a number of strong assertions in his article that are worthy of further discussion. This is the third in a series of commentaries that will provide counter-points to those assertions, this time focusing on trade and a final comment on the necessity for… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on September 16, 2011 at 8:37am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary The $25,000 Cow - The Rest of the Story (part 2)

By Nathan Stevens

September 9, 2011

 

Andrew Coyne, one of Canada’s most respected journalists, has garnered a lot of attention in his recent article in Maclean’s that turned a harsh eye towards supply management. He makes a number of strong assertions in his article that are worthy of further discussion. This is the second in a series of commentaries that will provide counter-points to those assertions, this time focusing on trends towards higher prices and fewer… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on September 9, 2011 at 9:34am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: The $25,000 Cow - The Rest of the Story (part 1)

By Nathan Stevens

September 2, 2011

 

Andrew Coyne, one of Canada’s most respected journalists, has garnered a lot of attention in his recent article in Maclean’s that turned a harsh eye towards supply management. He makes a number of strong assertions in his article that are worthy of further discussion. This is the first in a series of commentaries that will provide counter-points to those assertions, this time focusing on why there are different rules for different… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on September 2, 2011 at 12:42pm — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Creating New Options for Preserving our Top Farmland

By John Clement

August 26, 2011

 

Farmland preservation is a key component in keeping a strong and vigorous agricultural sector. And with Ontario having one of the biggest agriculture and food clusters in North America, it only makes sense that our citizens be proactive in ensuring that we do our best to preserve and maintain our best farmland.

 

The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario has a long history of advocating for farmland preservation. We’ve taken up the fight… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on August 26, 2011 at 8:51am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Fairness in Farming Is Never Far From the Surface in Most Discussions

By John Clement

August 12, 2011

 

The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario places a lot of emphasis on values. And, arguably, one of the biggest and most constant values for most of our members comes down to “fairness.” It’s not always stated upfront when our members engage each other at committee meetings and seminars, but it’s a steady presupposition that drives a good deal of conversation.

Over the years, many CFFO conversations and position statements have emphasized the… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on August 12, 2011 at 9:59am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: New Compensation for Wildlife Damage a Welcome Update

By Nathan Stevens

August 5, 2011

 

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs recently announced that the 30-year old wildlife damage compensation program has finally been updated. This has been an important issue for members of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario over the last number of years, and as an organization we are pleased that this could finally be updated. This is a solid step forward in balancing the broad number of goals desired by society… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on August 5, 2011 at 8:32am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: The Discussion between Farmers and Urban Society Is Constant and Changing

By John Clement

July 29, 2011

 

A decade or more ago, the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario hosted a number of seminars and other events centered on the theme of “Farming in the Park.” The title was kind of a cheeky expression designed to attract people’s attention and get them thinking about critical issues in farming. The key issue at the root of the discussion was the ongoing relationship between farmers and urban society.

 

During that time, the interest… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on July 29, 2011 at 9:00am — No Comments

Energy Planks Need Close Scrutiny in Coming Election

By Nathan Stevens

July 22, 2011

 

The Ontario election is looming for Ontario’s politicians and the voting public. Energy is emerging as “the” hot button topic for many voters. The big question is how we are going to organize a sustainable energy system that truly considers the economic, environmental and social consequences.

 

There is a need for broad deliberations regarding this province’s energy policy. In particular, balance needs to be struck to accommodate both long… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on July 22, 2011 at 11:30am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Decades of Dynamic Change for Ontario Agriculture

By John Clement

July 15, 2011

 

I’m starting to show my age because I recently realized that I’ve spent very close to 30 years working at a professional career in Ontario’s entrepreneurial agricultural community. Having grown up on a century-plus farm in southern Ontario, I moved into agricultural journalism for a number of years before going to work as a staff member for the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. Over the course of those three decades, I’ve assembled some… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on July 15, 2011 at 11:20am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Farmers Need to Enroll in Ontario Risk Management Program

By Nathan Stevens

July 8, 2011

 

Last week’s formal announcement of a Risk Management Program is arguably one of the most significant accomplishments for Ontario’s agricultural groups in a long time. From the perspective of agricultural leaders, this is a program that has been fought for over an extended time period that seeks to address needs for Ontario’s farmers in a global environment. The next step is to see whether the average farmer agrees with this assessment and chooses to… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on July 8, 2011 at 9:44am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Management Groups Can Hone the Skills of Farmers

By John Clement

July 1, 2011

 

Farm business management groups have been used across Canada over the past few decades but there appears to be a renewed push today to broaden their appeal. Although these groups can vary widely from sector-to-sector, most feature a small group of farmers working with a facilitator to compare individual production and financial records against those of peers. In the process, the aim is to grow and develop the management skills of all participants in… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on July 3, 2011 at 2:14pm — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Evaluating the Value of Dollars spent on Environmental Projects

By Nathan Stevens

June 24, 2011

 

In a world of limited financial resources, choosing the best environmental projects and the targets to be met can be difficult for policy makers. Recently, Dr. Anna Roberts from the Department of Primary Industries in Victoria, Australia, shared an approach to establishing and evaluating environmental improvement goals.

 

The approach is known as INFFER, which is short for Investment Framework for Environmental Resources. The key point of… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on June 24, 2011 at 11:45am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Profitability in the Ontario Food Chain Extends to Input Suppliers

By John Clement

June 17, 2011

 

The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario has said repeatedly that a sustainable Ontario agriculture needs to be profitable for all those in the food chain. Typically, most people view the food chain as only extending upwards from farmers to processors and retailers. But the reality is that it extends much further than that conception to include both consumers and farm input suppliers.

 

That reality was spelled out in a recent letter I… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on June 17, 2011 at 12:45pm — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Healthy Food Processing Sector Creates Opportunities for Our Farmers

By Nathan Stevens

June 10, 2011

 

Efforts are being made to increase awareness of the importance of the food processing industry in Ontario. The Government of Ontario and Synthesis Agri-food Consulting recently developed A Global Hub for Food Processing: Agri-food Asset Map. This document highlights the province’s diverse food growing and processing sector.

 

The Agri-food Asset Map highlights the strengths that Ontario has to offer as a place for…
Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on June 10, 2011 at 9:19am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Helping Out In The Rebuilding of An Agricultural Sector

By John Clement

June 3, 2011

 

The University of Guelph and Njala University in Sierra Leone have entered into a unique arrangement to strengthen the African institution’s ability to help in the rebuilding and development of agriculture and community service. As part of that arrangement, a delegation from the Sierra Leone university recently toured Ontario to gain a sense of how our province has put together a strong working relationship between farmers, producer groups,…

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Added by CFFO Blog on June 3, 2011 at 9:16am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Charting the Unknown Territory of Source Water Protection

By Nathan Stevens

May 27, 2011

 

Ontario is taking steps to protect our source water. However, we really don’t know what sort of impact this protection will have on farmers and their livelihoods. The requirements farmers may face, and the manner in which this process develops, will greatly impact agriculture’s support for the Clean Water Act.

 

There are a variety of options that source water committees are able to use to improve water quality. These range from…
Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on May 27, 2011 at 9:07am — 1 Comment

The CFFO Commentary: Key Questions for a Changing Agriculture

By John Clement

May 20, 2011

 

Farming is changing. And it’s not just changing in the scale of operations we now have, or the increasingly diverse markets we now supply. It’s also changing in how we view the vocation of farming and how it connects to rural communities and our fellow farmers. Simply put, our emphasis on the business of farming now often overshadows other dimensions to farming that we used to take for granted.

 

At the core of this change is predominately the… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on May 20, 2011 at 10:15am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Social Change Creates Evolving Standards for Farmers

By Nathan Stevens

May 13, 2011

 

There are times when a series of events come together and force change within an otherwise stable industry, game, or community. The status quo can change over time as new knowledge or societal expectations emerge. A perfect example is the shift in attitude towards head-shots in hockey. The question arises – are there uncomfortable areas within agriculture that are not being dealt with because the pressure to change isn’t great enough…
Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on May 13, 2011 at 11:39am — No Comments

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