The CFFO Commentary: Farmers Working Together Brings Results

By Henry Stevens

April 1, 2011

The hard work of the Ontario Agricultural Sustainability Coalition has finally produced positive results. As many people know, the 2011 provincial budget was announced this week and farmers received the eagerly anticipated news that new types of Business Risk Management programming are coming for many Ontario Farmers.

Presenting solutions that will cover the programming gaps found in existing programs like Agri-Stability has been the ongoing work of OASC. The coalition, made up of a wide variety of agricultural organizations, including the CFFO, has been concerned about the resiliency of the provincial agricultural sector and has worked tirelessly towards solutions.

Our provincial government recognized that volatility in commodity markets is an issue for farmers in managing business risks. The 2011 Budget announced the extension of the current pilot Risk Management Program for grain and oilseed farmers. Furthermore, the government will also implement a new Risk Management Program for the cattle, hog, sheep and veal sectors. Fruit and vegetable growers will be getting a new Self-Directed Risk Management Program.

These new risk management programs represent an innovative approach in providing bankable, stable and predictable support for Ontario’s farmers while responding to market trends in the long-term.

However, the job for CFFO and OASC isn’t done yet. The federal government still isn’t on board with regionally flexible business risk management programming. Moving forward, the efforts of OASC will need to focus on convincing the federal government that regionally specific programming is a necessity due to the sheer diversity of agriculture across Canada,

The CFFO would like to thank Carol Mitchell, the Minister of Agriculture, and the staff at OMAFRA for their hard work and support in making these new programs a reality. It took courage and leadership on the part of our province to move ahead alone in supporting Ontario’s farmers.

Henry Stevens is the President of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. The CFFO Commentary represents the opinions of the writer and does not necessarily represent CFFO policy. It can be heard weekly on CKNX Wingham and CFCO Chatham, Ontario and is archived on the CFFO website: www.christianfarmers.org. The CFFO is supported by 4,200 farm families across Ontario

Comment

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

Join Ontario Agriculture

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

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

Ontario Grows Most of the Nation's Celery

Celery may not be Canada's largest vegetable crop, but it remains an important specialty vegetable for fresh markets.

University of Guelph Receives $1 Million Gift to Advance Sustainable Materials Research and Bioeconomy Growth

A $1-million gift from The WB Family Foundation will help University of Guelph researchers accelerate the development of sustainable materials made from agricultural and forestry byproducts.

Pulse Market Insight #303

Faltering Monsoon Is Central to the Pulse Outlook For pulse markets, few things matter more than the Indian monsoon and this year’s version has been erratic. June rainfall came in well below average, and while a burst of heavier rain in late June and early July briefly narrowed the gap, volumes dropped off sharply again right in the middle of the main planting window. Rainfall amounts picked up again in late July, but the cumulative monsoon rainfall is still running 16% below the long-term average. There’s still a lot of monsoon season left, but the longer the shortfall persists, the more it matters for both of India’s pulse crops — the kharif crop being seeded now and the rabi crop that follows this winter. The uneven rains are showing up clearly in seeding progress. Indian farmers picked up the pace when moisture improved, but the most recent weekly data still show planting of tur (pigeon peas) 11% behind last year and 10% below the average pace. Some of that ground can still be ma

ABP highlights leadership, collaboration at PNWER Annual Summit

Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) played a strong role at the 2026 Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) Annual Summit in Edmonton, contributing to discussions on transportation, communications and industry collaboration while helping showcase Alberta Beef to delegates from across the region. The Annual Summit brings together government leaders, industry representatives and stakeholders from across the Pacific Northwest to discuss shared economic opportunities and regional priorities. Strengthening agricultural supply chains ABP Chair Doug Roxburgh participated in a panel discussion focused on strengthening agricultural supply chains alongside Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Tara Sawyer and Jennifer Riddle of Tidewater Transportation and Terminals. The discussion highlighted the importance of reliable transportation infrastructure, cross-border collaboration and efficient supply chains to support a resilient and competitive livestock industry throughout the Pacific No

Meet Manitoba Crop Alliance’s 2025-26 high school bursary recipients

Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) is proud to support agriculture’s next generation. MCA’s bursary program is designed to assist with the financial needs of students pursuing education in a field that will benefit the agriculture sector. Six graduating high school students from Manitoba have been awarded with bursaries valued at $1,000 each. The six bursary recipients are Austin Dubyts from Stockton, Katie Gulak from Gilbert Plains, Aiden Brunel from Ste. Rose du Lac, Keira Duguid from Gimli, Julie McMahon from Inwood, and Ella Prejet from Notre Dame de Lourdes. “Every year, I’m impressed by the quality of our bursary applicants and this year’s recipients are no exception,” says MCA chair Jonothan Hodson. “I look forward to seeing the valuable contributions they will make to our industry. The future of Manitoba agriculture is in great hands.” To qualify for these bursaries, applicants did not need to be continuing into an agriculture-specific program. However, they did need to clearly ar

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service