Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

The CFFO Commentary: CFFO Releases Goals for an Ontario Food Strategy

As anyone who plays a lot of games knows, having a plan is essential to success. Whether one is playing a sport, a board game or a video game, having that plan of action greatly increases the chance of winning. This is also true in the business world where having a plan makes a huge difference between success and failure. The agriculture sector is no different. The CFFO has developed what it believes are the essential goals of a food strategy for Ontario.

Last winter, the CFFO Seminar Series focused on the importance of a strategy. It developed a set of goals for the sector to work towards that improve the entire sector and meet the needs of society at large. The result of our consultation with the grassroots is the CFFO’s Goals for an Ontario Food Strategy.

The CFFO strategy focuses on forward thinking initiatives that enhance the productivity and capability of the Ontario agri-food sector. The strategy considers today’s political reality of record deficits, and the fact that real influence can be leveraged if farmers, processors, retailers and consumers have a common set of goals and values related to food. This means that bridge building will be essential to success.

The strategy identifies broad goals for the entire sector, as well as more specific goals related to domestic production and export oriented goals. The most important of these goals is to achieve a food system that is profitable for each segment of the chain. The strategy then focuses on how government can support the initiatives of the farming community as capacity builder and enabler of innovation. And finally the strategy acknowledges that the plan for Ontario must play to one of its key strengths: the wide diversity of production that can take place in this province.

Ontario needs a food strategy to succeed on an ever more competitive North American stage. There need to be clear cut goals for the sector as a whole to work towards and achieve. The CFFO Food Strategy, which can be found on our website under publications, identifies the goals that are important to its members that will move Ontario agriculture forward successfully in the future.


Nathan Stevens is the Research and Policy Advisor for 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 4,300 farm families 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

Minister MacDonald sets the stage ahead of NPF meetings

Ministers and other stakeholders are in Halifax this week

Farm Management Canada launches Canada’s Young Farmers

The platform is designed to support and amplify the next generation of Canadian ag leaders

Watch for the development of Sclerotinia stem rot in canola

Information is OFFERED TO THE PUBLIC FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environment Canada, and their employees assume no liability from the use of this information.   June surface soil moisture conditions indicate that much of the Prairie canola growing region currently has sufficient soil moisture to support germination of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum sclerotia (Fig. 1). Cumulative rainfall from May 30 – June 28 was the highest in the Edmonton, Lethbridge, Winnipeg areas, and lowest in northern Saskatchewan and the Peace River area of Alberta (Fig. 2). When rainfall over the whole growing season (April 1 – June 28) was considered, the Edmonton area was much higher than average (Fig. 3). Recent heavy rains across the Prairies have significantly increased these amounts. Temperature over the May 30 – June 28 period was highest in southern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan and lowest in western Alberta (Fig. 4). For the whole growing season temperatures have

Table Beet Harvest has Begun

Ontario's 2026 fresh beet harvest is underway with a positive outlook and steady supply, reinforcing the province's position as Canada's leading producer of this resilient crop.

Cereal rust risk report April 1 to June 29 2026 stripe rust reported in Alberta and eastern Canada along with leaf and stem rust in eastern Canada

Stripe rust development in Alberta There are reports of stripe rust developing in Alberta, though at low levels to date. The wheat crop is maturing in the Pacific Northwest and will decline as a source of inoculum as it is harvested. The spread and development of stripe rust in Alberta now depends more on weather and crop conditions within the province going forward. No rust reports to date in Saskatchewan and Manitoba Cereal crops in the southern US states have nearly been harvested and were affected severely by drought this crop season. Spring cereals in the northern states are still developing but there are no reports to date of rust infection in these northern states. Crop development in many parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba is delayed relative to normal, and frequent and heavy rains raise the risk of disease development in all crops. To date though there have been no reports of rust development in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Cereal rusts reported in eastern Canada Colleagues

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service