Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

This past summer has been an interesting one along the lakeshore. Living and farming in the Ashfield Twp area is particularly interesting each summer due to the influx of tourists that bring their stress and frustrations to the lakeshore for some quality recharge time. Smooth washing waves, romantic sunsets, green fields of crops, quiet countryside and tourist events.
In order to keep them coming some people suggest we need to improve our environmental standards when it comes to water quality on the nearshore area of Lake Huron. For years this has baffled the scientists as to why Lake Huron has an interesting uniqueness about it. Obviously everyone else has answers for a solution to the problem but some will not admit they are a part of the problem. You can imagine who is pointing their finger at you know who. We are each an issue at the end of the day and we each need to do our part.
Recently a letter writer to the local paper publisher (Signal Star Publishing Ltd.) wrote an interesting letter stating "we farmers would have appreciated advice". I find this mind boggling due to various reasons. A few of the reasons were listed in a letter I wrote to the editor of Better Farming Magazine titled "Clarifying the facts about E. coli in Lake Huron". Since then the letter was printed in the Focus Magazine which has a distribution area of Huron County (20,450 copies delivered) - rural and urban areas.
Within the letter I stated "Each month the Huron County Federation of Agriculture lists the dates for the local Environmental Farm Plan sessions. Most annual agriculture meetings in Huron County features someone talking about local initiatives and funding that is available for environmental stewardship programming. Each of the two local conservation authorities has staff that can assist farmers with projects that will be effective in reducing erosion and improving the environmental "footprint" of the property (and quite possibly improve productivity). The local OMAFRA office in Clinton also has staff to direct farmers on where to go or who to speak with if they want to do a project. Funding can be up to 100 per cent of the cost of the project depending on where the farmer is located in Huron County. For a few years now Huron County has a Huron Clean Water Project that provides project funding."
In the letter I sent to Focus Magazine I also referred to an article that a Signal Star reporter printed on July 8 about the funding initiatives for farmers and how we can improve our impact on water quality. So the articles are out there each year.
This past week I spoke with Lois Sinclair, Ontario Soil & Crop, who delivers the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) to Huron County farmers. She stated that since 2005 she has numbered 700 books - the number of farmers who have actually completed the EFP sessions and filled out action plans - not necessarily the number that have participated in the class but not completed the book.
Huron County lead the way under the previous program with over $5.5 million in grants from the EFP and over 1400 projects completed. This does not include the hundreds of thousands of dollars granted from the County each year through the Huron Clean Water Project.
The EFP program has since changed going on an annual basis. Lois stated that the applications for funding under Year 1 of the four years opened on June 22, 2009. She then received a message on August 12, 2009 stating that funding was all used up.
Farmers all across this County are trying and attempting to mitigate their impact on the environment. So it really puzzles me when I read "we farmers would have appreciated advice". A Ministry of Natural Resources staff person told me they are surveying a region of the Lower Maitland watershed and they are finding similar results - a high percentage of the property owners do not know that there are programs and funding available for them - rural and non-rural.
How do we get the messages out that there is funding and assistance available, "we farmers" are spending millions of dollars to try and do our part, and finishing off the message with "we are not finished yet."?
Oh, by the way - the way I look at the numbers, Environmental Farm Plan funding has been cut by over 40%. Does that sound like environment is a concern to the government?

Views: 46

Comment

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

Join Ontario Agriculture

Comment by Jacqui Laporte on March 15, 2010 at 6:41am
Lois and I would love any ideas on how to get this message out to more producers, however, perhaps it is a sign of accomplishment, when we still hold EFP workshops and 50% of the participants have never heard of it before. I would prefer to think that they are getting our message now in some way, rather than focussing on why they havent before this time.

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

Minister’s statement on Canadian Council of Forest Ministers chair appointment

Ravi Parmar, Minister of Forests, has released the following statement on the annual meeting of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM): “This week, I met with federal, provincial and territorial forest ministers from across Canada to discuss shared priorities, challenges and emerging opportunities for Canada’s forestry sector. “It’s an honour to take on the role of incoming chair of the CCFM for the upcoming year. I want to thank the Honourable Lisa Dempster, Minister of Fisheries, Forests and Agriculture for Newfoundland and Labrador, for her leadership over the past year. “As British Columbia’s minister of forests, I’ve seen first-hand the importance of working together across jurisdictions to strengthen Canada’s forest sector in the face of persistent and new challenges. From global trade dynamics and U.S. tariffs, to ever-intensifying wildfire seasons and shifting labour markets, these challenges don’t stop at provincial or territorial boundaries, and neither can our so

Farmers’ market program delivers another bountiful harvest

People in British Columbia will continue to have improved access to nutritious, locally grown foods through the B.C. Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program. “As the weather warms up and more people take advantage of British Columbia’s amazing farmers’ markets, we are helping people and families on lower incomes access fresh and nutritious foods grown in their communities,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Coupon Program promotes healthy eating and gives people an opportunity to connect with and support local farmers and producers.” The B.C. Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program is operating in more than 90 communities throughout the province, reaching families, seniors and pregnant people from more than 8,500 households. “We all want people to be able to access nutritious, healthy food in their communities,” said Sheila Malcolmson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. “Our funding will help more people, including seniors and fami

Pulse Market Insight #277

Weather Market or Not? There’s no shortage of question marks about 2025 crop production. StatsCan will issue updated acreage numbers on June 27 and the USDA will release its latest acreage estimates on June 30. These reports should provide some direction for the 2025/26 crop outlooks. It will be interesting to see whether all the trade uncertainty caused farmers to shift acreage, including for pulses. But that’s just the beginning of the story. We’re still just in the first month of the growing season and already, it’s been a roller coaster in many parts of the prairies, in some ways similar to 2024. Prior to seeding in late March, there were a few dry areas on the prairies but overall, conditions seemed positive and there was some early optimism. Move forward to the end of April though and the AAFC Drought Monitor map showed expanding areas of drought, particularly in the northern prairies, where pea acreage is concentrated. By the end of May, the drought situation had spread across

Saskatchewan Topsoil Moisture Improves, but Some Crop Damage Too

Saskatchewan topsoil moisture conditions improved following heavy rain in some locations this past week, although crop damage also occurred in the worst-hit areas. In addition to the rain, with localized amounts in excess of 100 mm, some areas also experienced minor to severe hail and wind damage, “with producers still assessing which crops will be able to recover,” said Thursday’s weekly crop report. On the other hand, some crops also continue to suffer from dryness and drought, with the Northwest Region seeing only limited rainfall in the past week. Areas in the west-central and pockets in other regions received significant rainfall. The Macklin area received the highest rainfall at 108 mm, followed by the Wilkie area at 107 mm. The Semans area reported 99 mm and the Luseland area reported 96 mm for the week. Rainfall significantly increased topsoil moisture in all regions (see map below). Provincially, cropland topsoil moisture was rated as 6% surplus, 74% adequate, 16% shor

Betting on America: How WorkSaver Tripled & Thrives in U.S. Manufacturing

In this episode of The Germinate Podcast, Joe Sampson and Tim Burenga take listeners on a 45-year journey of WorkSaver—from its founding by Tim’s father in 1980 to its evolution as a dual-focused manufacturer and OEM contract specialist.

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service