The CFFO Commentary: Innovation Is a Key in Responding to Agricultural Transitions

By John Clement

January 20, 2012

I grew up on a tobacco farm. My brother grew tobacco, as did my father and grandfather. I have spent literally months of my life replanting, weeding, irrigating, harvesting and moving flue-cured leaf. Accordingly, I have viewed the rise and fall of the Ontario tobacco industry with keen interest and have tried to glean lessons from it that can be used when studying other agricultural commodities.

Tobacco was a huge contributor to the economies of whole counties in southwestern Ontario. Land that was deemed of limited productive value after the Second World War was quickly transformed into cash-producing farmsteads that delivered lots of income, lots of tax money and lots of employment. Tobacco was a success story for several decades.

But it didn’t take long for tobacco’s demise to begin. Several health organizations started ringing alarm bells about the health implications of smoking. Regulations and increasing taxes at both the federal and provincial level put increasing pressure on the industry, with decreasing purchases of Ontario leaf from tobacco companies combining to create an exodus out of tobacco farming.

Nothing symbolizes the change in tobacco’s fortunes more than recent reports that the Ontario government has overcome a legal roadblock in launching a $50-billion lawsuit against 14 tobacco companies to recover past and ongoing health care costs due to tobacco-related illnesses. The government maintains that smoking is the number one cause of premature death and illness in Ontario and costs the health care system $1.6 billion annually.
The lessons of tobacco are lessons in transition. Some farmers simply cashed in early, selling their farms and getting out while the getting was good. Others waited and transitioned into cash crops or higher-value crops like ginseng. Still others found a variety of ways to leverage their agricultural problems into opportunities.

The silver lining in this story for former tobacco-producing communities is that innovation and entrepreneurship have followed in the wake in tobacco’s demise and some farmers are leading the way with new agricultural ventures. To learn more about the changes taking place, log on to www.farmcentre.com and check out the organization’s December 2011 newsletter on success stories from Norfolk County. It’s a good read and shows that innovation is a key success factor in any form of agricultural transition.

John Clement is the General Manager 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.

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

Soybean Fungicide Decisions

As soybean crops move into flowering, questions are sure to be raised about whether fungicide applications are needed. In anticipation, let’s take a closer look at the potential disease threats and what Manitoba On-Farm Network research has told us. What Should We Be Concerned About? Foliar diseases infecting soybeans in Manitoba typically occur at low severity levels and are not expected to impact yield most years. These usually include bacterial blight, downy mildew and Septoria brown spot. Stem diseases generally have a greater impact on yield. White mould: infections begin at nodes along the main stem. Wilted plants may be spotted from afar, within a humid canopy may find white mycelial growth and black sclerotia bodies later in the season. This disease is the main target of fungicide applications. Cool, wet conditions throughout July and August favour white mould. For every 10% increase in the percent of plants infected with white mould, 2-5 bu/ac of yield are lost in soybeans.

Fungicide Decision Tool for Managing Mycosphaerella Blight in Field Peas

When your peas have reached V10 (10th node stage), it is an ideal time to start scouting each field to evaluate if a fungicide application to manage Mycosphaerella blight is warranted. Continue scouting for symptoms from V10 (10th true node) to R2 (beginning bloom), during mid-June to late July. Mycosphaerella (Ascochyta) blight is the most widespread and economically damaging foliar disease of Manitoba field peas. Peas are the single host crop of Mycosphaerella but it can be managed by foliar fungicide. This pathogen can be stubble-, air-, soil- and seed-borne. Spores can travel long distances by air, meaning there is a disease risk even in fields where peas have not been grown previously. The impact of disease severity on yield will depend on how early the disease sets in and how quickly it progresses into the upper crop canopy. Early infections during the bloom to early/mid-pod stages cause the most damage if left untreated. Use this fungicide decision worksheet when scouting to

Manitoba pork, canola producers hold steady amid heavy tariffs

A slab of back bacon from Natural Raised Pork comes with a waitlist. Ian Smith points to tariffs. Since the United States placed levies on imports from Canada, Manitobans have increasingly been calling Smith about his farm near Argyle, some 40 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. “There’s more people wanting to support local and I’m one of few people that do what I’m doing,” said Smith, 62. He estimates 90 per cent of his pork products are bought by Manitoba households; the latter goes to a packing plant. Last year, it was a 50-50 split. Smith works alone, hustling to meet the four-to-six week waitlist that’s accumulated. He keeps hundreds of feeder pigs and a couple dozen sows; it’s a relatively small operation, he noted. “If there’s any mistakes to be made, there’s only one person to blame and that’s me,” he said with a laugh. Smith doesn’t export to China — so he’s shielded from that nation’s levies still hanging over the Canadian industry.

KAP Welcomes Appointment of New U.S. Trade Representative

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) welcomes the appointment of Richard Madan as Manitoba’s new trade representative to the United States. “We commend Premier Kinew and Minister Moses for making Manitoba’s voice a priority in Washington, D.C.,” said KAP President Jill Verwey. “We look forward to working with Mr. Madan to advance the interests of Manitoba farmers and the agricultural industry, ensuring these interests are at the forefront of his work as he forges stronger relationships with American policymakers and trade officials.” Agriculture is an important part of Manitoba’s economy, with $4.29 billion in agri-food exports to the U.S. alone in 2024, and KAP sees the new presence in Washington as instrumental in fostering strategic relationships with key states that are important to our trade interests. “The U.S. is Manitoba’s largest agri-food export destination and is one of Manitoba’s key trading partners on the international stage,” added KAP General Manager Colin Hornby. “

2025 Annual General Meeting

On Wednesday, June 18th, the Ontario Farmland Trust hosted its Annual General Meeting. The meeting was held hybrid again this year, with members and friends joining both virtually and in person.

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service