Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

The CFFO Commentary: CFFO Core Policy Values

By Nathan Stevens
March 16, 2012
 
The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario recently fine-tuned its core policy values. In the rapidly changing world of agriculture, it is important to take time periodically to ensure that the organization has the right priorities for its members. The process affirmed that the organization focus on three key themes when dealing with any issue.
 
First and foremost, the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario is a faith-based organization that acknowledges that our work is done to honour God and live out our lives as Christians. All our policy is an extension of our commitment to living out those values, while we recognize that the manner in which each individual farmer embraces those values may be different.
 
The second key theme that was affirmed is the importance of family-based farming and the land that serves as the foundation of successful agriculture. The CFFO recognizes that family farms come in large, medium, and small sizes and that we need policy that works for each of them. The CFFO recognizes that farmers value their career choice as producers of safe food, fuel and fibre in an ecologically sustainable manner, and many believe that farming is a vocation, not just a job. This recognition extends outward into valuing entrepreneurship and responsible adoption of new technology.
 
The third theme that was affirmed is that CFFO values justice, fairness and compassion in all aspects of agriculture. On the business side, this means that the CFFO values marketing systems that produce satisfactory returns for farmers from the marketplace. On the environmental side, this means a strong commitment to stewardship and the adoption of practices that provide long-term ecological care. On the social side, this means that respect and compassion for others in the farming sector and the food chain is essential to good buisness. The CFFO values farm policy from a triple bottom line point of view that properly balances rights and responsibilities.
 
The Christian Farmers Federation is focused on expressing our values through agriculture policy. We are focused on faith and family-based farming that operates within a fair and compassionate working environment.

 

Nathan Stevens is the Interim Manager and Director of Policy Development for the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. The CFFO Commentary represents the opinions of the writer and does not necessarily represent CFFO policy. The CFFO Commentary is heard weekly on CFCO Chatham, CKNX Wingham, and UCB Canada radio stations in Chatham, Belleville, Bancroft, Brockville and Kingston and in Brantford and Woodstock. It is also found on the CFFO website:www.christianfarmers.org. CFFO is supported by 4,200 family farmers across Ontario.

Views: 67

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Make Every Acre Count with the BCRC's New Gross Margins Calculator

Gross margin analysis can be used to evaluate the financial performance of various enterprises of a farm business within the short term. This analysis can assist in allocating limited resources (like land) to their existing enterprises to find which combination optimizes profit.   If a beef cattle producer has land allocated to specific uses (e.g., pasture, crops), the reallocation of this land has implications for the farm’s net income. For example, cow-calf producers must choose between maintaining pasture and hay land or converting it into cash crop production. These decisions are driven by ecological considerations (e.g., risk of erosion, too rocky), personal preference and the potential profitability of each land use. Gross margin is the total revenue derived from an enterprise less the variable (direct) costs incurred in that enterprise (e.g., feed, fuel, seed). This can be reported for the whole enterprise or per unit of output. For example, land allocation can be considered o

The Unexpected Upside of Canada’s Wildfires

Colin Penner, who farms about 3,700 acres an hour's drive north of the U.S. border, crunched up a handful of plump canola pods and blew the chaff into a stiff prairie breeze. A small pile of tiny black seeds remained in his palm. Last summer, high heat and harsh sun scorched canola's yellow flowers and ruined their pollen, knocking down yields across Western Canada. This summer, smoke from nearby wildfires shrouded the July skies and protected Penner's young crop from the sun's burning rays, resulting in more seeds per pod and more pods per plant. RELATED: Should Canada sprint to replant trees after intense wildfire years? "Look at all these pods," he said. He would wait to see what the harvest brings, but "smoke will likely be a positive thing." Protection from extreme heat As Canada's western provinces experience the second-worst wildfire season in decades, driven by hotter and drier conditions due to climate change, some canola farmers say they are seeing an unexpected benefit

Ontario agriculture is worth celebrating this week — and every week

By Clint Cameron, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Minister MacDonald meets with industry to discuss AgriMarketing funding increase and expansion into new markets

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency delivers 7 measures to cut red tape and support Canada's agricultural sector

The Government of Canada is committed to taking decisive action to strengthen Canada’s economy and global competitiveness. Today, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is delivering on this commitment through a suite of regulatory changes aimed at reducing red tape and supporting economic resiliency for Canada’s agricultural sector.

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service