Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

The CFFO Commentary: New Compensation for Wildlife Damage a Welcome Update

By Nathan Stevens
August 5, 2011
 
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs recently announced that the 30-year old wildlife damage compensation program has finally been updated. This has been an important issue for members of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario over the last number of years, and as an organization we are pleased that this could finally be updated. This is a solid step forward in balancing the broad number of goals desired by society involving the rural landscape.
 
The fact of the matter is that there is only one rural landscape, but a wide array of wants and needs that must be met. Biodiversity is a valuable goal that society believes is worthy of effort while growing food is an essential goal for everyone. Unfortunately, these two goals are not always in harmony with each other. Therefore, improving the compensation program for farmers helps balance out these goals in a reasonable way.
 
The highlights of the current program include an expanded list of both the wildlife species that cause harm and an increased livestock listing for compensation when the two forces come into contact with one another in a negative way. The amount that producers receive has been updated to be more reflective of today’s prices.
 
In addition, the program addresses some of the other needs that have developed over time, including a $30 reimbursement for each claim a municipality processes, a $50,000 fund for strategic investments with industry to better understand how to prevent agriculture-wildlife conflicts, and a commitment to review the program every two years to ensure it is up-to-date.
 
Moving forward, there are other concerns that need to be addressed regarding the interaction of wildlife with agriculture. Can crop insurance be used as the tool to deal with damage to crops by wildlife or is another tool going to be required? What is the proper balance to find regarding predator controls – a limited hunt of problem animals or a less targeted bounty to meet an overall population target?
 
The CFFO has been strong in its support for farmers in the area of predation over the last number of years. The update of this program is a significant step forward for farmers that have to deal with wildlife damage. It is also a step forward in balancing the wide variety of goals that are being pursued in a limited rural landscape.
 
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. The CFFO Commentary is heard weekly on CFCO Chatham, CKNX Wingham, and UCB Canada radio stations in Chatham, Belleville, Bancroft, Brockville and Kingston. It is also archived on the CFFO website: www.christianfarmers.org. CFFO is supported by 4,200 family farmers across Ontario.

Views: 46

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

Three Agricultural and Food Sciences profs recognized with emeriti title

Three retired faculty members were named professors emeriti in 2025 for their distinguished service to the University of Manitoba: Dr. Harold Aukema, Dr. Ying Chen and Dr. Qiang Zhang. The title is one of the University’s highest honours. Individuals are selected on their distinguished service to teaching, research, creative and scholarly works and service. Each of the awardees contributed to the Faculty and UM throughout their accomplished research and academic careers. Their nominations read: Harold Aukema, Food and Human Nutritional Sciences A dedicated faculty member for 26 years, Dr. Harold Aukema has made transformative contributions to nutritional science, becoming a global leader in the study of diet and fatty acid metabolites, known as oxylipins. His pioneering research has advanced understanding of dietary interventions for kidney health, directly shaping national and international dietary recommendations for polycystic kidney disease. He has published more than 150 peer-

Grow Canada: Strengthening our Voice, Sharpening our Tools

Grow Canada took place in Calgary, AB, December 2-4. It captured the best ideas from a sharp lineup of speakers and panellists, and built the kind of connections that turn good ideas into action. Connecting farmers, dietitians, industry and content creators, it connects everyone to talk about our agriculture industry and discuss the challenges it faces. The main themes were advocacy, artificial intelligence (AI) and inflation. Canadian agriculture is an economic engine that drives jobs, exports and innovation. Our story lands when we tell it consistently. That means increasing our lobbying efforts, showing up with data and farm-level examples, and making the economic case for stable rules, competitive infrastructure, and market access. Advocacy isn’t a side project; it’s risk management for our next decade. AI is like a wrench in the toolbox; useful when pointed at the right bolts. For best results, we need to be repetitive, rules-based, have documents prepared, regulatory submission

Stock Talks connect producers, municipal officials

When Curtis Vander Heyden of Picture Butte’s Grandview Cattle Feeders Ltd. attended Lethbridge County’s Stock Talks in October, he was prepared to discuss some of the challenges his family’s operation faces but did not expect immediate action. “I did attend the Lethbridge County Stock Talks and it led to the operations manager Ryan Thomson, reaching out and coming to one of my locations for a ‘one-on-one’ so we could both air our frustrations about the past management of the road infrastructure and elaborate on what we could change and work together on,” Vander Heyden says. He appreciated the opportunity to meet with a municipal official for a boots on the ground interaction. “It was the first time in recollected memory that anyone from the County of Lethbridge not only took the time, but actually asked for continued input,” Vander Heyden says. Indeed, the Stock Talks he attended provided an organized and moderated environment to have meaningful two-way discussions with municipal o

Province of Manitoba Commits Second Round of Funding for Gate

Cereals Canada today announced that it has received an additional $10.5 million in funding support from the Province of Manitoba for the Global Agriculture Technology Exchange (Gate). This investment brings the total pledged by the Province to $23.5 million. “I would like to thank the Province for its continued support of Gate, and Premier Wab Kinew for championing this project over the last nine months,” said Dean Dias, CEO of Cereals Canada. “Today’s announcement puts us another step closer to getting shovels in the ground at a critical time for Canadian agriculture.” Gate is a new $102-million, state-of-the-art facility being developed by Cereals Canada in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is envisioned as a world-class hub for research, training, and international collaboration to ensure the long-term competitiveness of Canada’s cereals industry. “A strong Manitoba economy depends on helping our agricultural producers reach new markets,” said Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kost

Saskatchewan Exports Continue to Support Food and Energy Security Worldwide

Today the Ministry of Trade and Export Development provided data on Saskatchewan's global exports. Despite a challenging year, where international trade disputes, tariffs and geopolitical events have disrupted trade to traditional markets, Saskatchewan exports are making their way to different markets across the globe. "Saskatchewan products are being sent to over 160 countries, helping to ensure food and energy security for billions of people," Trade and Export Development Minister Warren Kaeding said. "Saskatchewan exports, and the value of those exports continues to grow. Here at home these exports are essential for creating jobs and providing services and infrastructure that ensure the great quality of life for the people of Saskatchewan."  Highlights include: In the first nine months of 2025, one of the top destinations for Saskatchewan products in South America was Brazil, where exports totaled $1.3 billion dollars, primarily in potash.  Exports to Japan have grown considerabl

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service