Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

TIME TO RALLY

After hearing that both levels of government want to do more meetings and discuss the future of agriculture in Canada I wonder if it is time to bring all non supply managed farmers and their elected officials together for a major rally to get the point accross that wait and see is not an answer and we need results now. Is this a good idea and if so how do we get the ball rolling.

Views: 677

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John Donkers on February 26, 2010 at 4:50am
To rally or not too rally.. I guess the first question to ask is.. are we united enough or upset enough to pull off a large successful rally? Honestly the way the Ontario government has dealt with agriculture, the lack of support given or concern towards a completely unbalanced playing field within Canada it leads me to believe that we are seen as a joke and now are being abandond. Never in my life have I seen a more misguided, non business like group of politicians. With the E Health scandal costing a billion dollars and now green energy that will do nothing but offer a few jobs while huge profits go outside Canada,the costs of electricity will be HUGE and make our farms and manufacturing facilities that much more uncompetitive.

As farmers we should be extremely concerned with our futures. Ontario use to be the engine of Canada but with poor leadership and misguided policies, all that has been eroded to a point that I wonder how much longer can Ontario even compete within its own country.

Ontario should have everything going for it but this provincial government is about as wimpy as it gets and does not protect its own. If farmers want to be better then politicians then there is little choice but to rally.
Permalink Reply by Brent Royce on February 26, 2010 at 8:09am
What type of rally will get the attention of the political leaders?
Permalink Reply by JoAnne Caughill on February 26, 2010 at 10:30am
I think we will need a rally involving all non-supply managed agriculture (our own coalition) to take the message forward.
Permalink Reply by Brent Royce on February 28, 2010 at 1:33am
Standing on Queen's Park or Parliment HIll going to prove anything?
Permalink Reply by John Donkers on February 28, 2010 at 1:53pm
Obviously a rally is something that comes about when there are issues that are not being dealt with to a groups satisfaction. This non-supply coalition has be working tirelessly to get the government to act, it has also come up short and long terms plans to fix the problems that exist within Ontario. The Federal government is not to blame because it treats each province equally within agristability. When we look at Quebec, they fund there ASRA program to 100% by taking the Agristability money then topping the rest up with its own revenues. By doing this all sectors from the chain can survive and the province of Quebec benefits because it doesnt lose its producers, packers and in fact is gaining marketing share over Ontario.

So the focus is on the provincial government here. They have the ability to make the proper changes necessary to level out this unlevel playing field before its too late.

So yes a rally is totally necessary, if there is a way to get the public on our side that would be a major boost to the cause. Agriculture creates thousands and thousands of jobs, if people understood this I would hope they would support an action like this.
Permalink Reply by Roadrunner on March 2, 2010 at 5:08am
Hi John:

The only rallies that have been successful in my mind were the big ones in the USA years ago where Willie Nelson..John Mellencamp and other entertainers generated alot of support...Save the family farm...
I think in this day and age we need to do something that catches the consumer....

I do think we need to do something.
Permalink Reply by linda Hancock on March 3, 2010 at 4:36am
Hear in BC we are faced with the same problems. We held a meeting with some ranchers and everyone was disappointed in the lack of response from the governments local or federal. I think they just hope enough farmers will fail then they wont have to help. A rally would be good but all the ranchers I know are too busy trying to survive to spend time planning a rally.
When you go online and start looking i could not believe how many different agriculture groups there are and that is the problem we are not united enough in canada period. Agristability just doesnt work and the governments hide behind the program telling the public how they have a program in place to help farmers. What a crock. Some groups say a managed supply for beef wont work because a third or a half they cant decide which would have to exit the industry but the way things are now this will happen anyways.
If someone knows how we can set up a rally I would be there. I think there should be one in every province at the same time??
Permalink Reply by littlelamb on March 3, 2010 at 6:50am
"A rally would be good but all the ranchers I know are too busy trying to survive to spend time planning a rally."

This is where the organizations that we pay our fees to every year should come into play and plan the rallies. We actually switched to who we pay our fee to this year because we didn't feel that we were getting anything out of our membership with the OFA
Permalink Reply by JoAnne Caughill on March 5, 2010 at 4:30pm
I agree with John that it is the Provincial Government that needs to help us out right away to save this Industry. However I would not let the Federal Government off the hook so quickly. They have AgriStability which (even though Gerry thinks it does) IS NOT working for producers. His 80% satisfaction rating has to be many years old. They need to fix this program. Sheila Frasier, Auditor General has spoke severely against this program and it's ability to work as it should as outlined in the Farm Income Protection Act. We need to take Gerry to task on this program and make it stand up to their (Government's) own test of FIPA.

I think we need a MAJOR protest - and yes as pointed out in another email - it would be great if all Provinces could agree to protest together on the same dates. Anyone interested in this from other provinces can contact me through this chat forum. Let's work together.
Permalink Reply by Tom Murray on March 6, 2010 at 3:52am
JoAnne Caughill said:
I agree with John that it is the Provincial Government that needs to help us out right away to save this Industry. However I would not let the Federal Government off the hook so quickly. They have AgriStability which (even though Gerry thinks it does) IS NOT working for producers. His 80% satisfaction rating has to be many years old. They need to fix this program. Sheila Frasier, Auditor General has spoke severely against this program and it's ability to work as it should as outlined in the Farm Income Protection Act. We need to take Gerry to task on this program and make it stand up to their (Government's) own test of FIPA.

I think we need a MAJOR protest - and yes as pointed out in another email - it would be great if all Provinces could agree to protest together on the same dates. Anyone interested in this from other provinces can contact me through this chat forum. Let's work together.
Permalink Reply by Tom Murray on March 6, 2010 at 4:09am
I think a rally invoving all provinces at their own legislative buildings and one in Ottawa is ideal but it is a massive undertaking. Our representitives at all levels are not doing their job. It is to late this year and I wonder why I did not think of it sooner but I wonder if a good start would be having everyone ask for a refund from thier farm orginization. We keep telling every one that nothing they are doing is working but they all are still collecting their paychecks and it is time we made them hurt like we are. I am on board to help with any rally and firmly believe that the ones that are suffering are the ones that are going to have to make the time and take the effort that is required to get our points accross or lay down and let agriculture in Canada die.
Permalink Reply by Roadrunner on March 8, 2010 at 5:16pm
What other ways are there to generate the attention farmers need from the public and governments....

Peta and greenpeace etc do some major event that gains them some huge awareness with limited resources....

What good ideas do people have....

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

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

Pulse & Soybean Crop Update

Soybeans range from R3 (beginning pod) to R4 (full pod). Soybean plant height and biomass have increased dramatically over the last two weeks as the plants continued flowering and pod development. Varying degrees of stem, leaf, flower and pod deformations have been noted and have been attributed to a variety of causes including: Rapid Growth Syndrome – Shows up as bubbling and crinkling and curling of new leaves since the leaf interior is growing quicker than the leaf veins and edges can keep up with. See Figure 1 below. Suspected Herbicide Drift – Concerns regarding suspected Group 4 drift in particular have been reported this year. Caution should be taken with such diagnosis based on visual assessments only as rapid growth syndrome can produce some comparable symptoms. See Figures 2 and 3 below. Suspected Environmentally Induced Male Plant Sterility – Symptoms with this disorder can be very odd and hard to verify. Extreme fluctuations in temperature which includes very hot conditi

Drought Support for Manitoba Livestock Producers

Federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture have reached agreement on the five-year Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership policy framework. Governments will continue to deliver a complete and effective suite of business risk management (BRM) programs.  Business Risk Management (BRM) programs are in place to help farmers in managing risks from income declines resulting from drought, flooding, low prices, and increased input costs. The programs work together by providing protection for different types of losses, as well as cash flow options. AgriInvest helps cover small margin declines.  AgriInvest Publications and Forms AgriStability assists in cases of large margin declines caused by circumstances such as low prices and rising input costs.  AgriStability Publications and Forms Agristability Benefit Calculator AgriInsurance offers protection for production losses related to specific crops or commodities caused by natural hazards. Pasture Days Insuranc

Smoky conditions and hot weather impacting Manitoba's agricultural producers

In a growing season that's already experienced more than 30 days of air quality warnings, Manitoba's farmers are adjusting to keep themselves and their animals safe amid smoky conditions from wildfires burning across the province. In Pipestone, Man., the orange haze can get so thick it's hard to see more than half a mile, says cattle producer Melissa Atchison. That means during the tail end of calving season, they're taking extra precautions to keep themselves and their animals healthy. "It's not as if you are going to have pre-smoked meat," Atchison said. "It doesn't affect meat quality.… It's more about managing their health and their lungs and their respiratory system." Jonas Watson, a veterinarian at Winnipeg's Grant Park Animal Hospital, said the adverse health effects caused by poor air quality can also hurt producers' bottom line. The summer's intense heat can impact an outdoor animal's breathing at the best of times — but add in irritants like smoke and their health can be

Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station educates local producers

The Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station showcased 44 experiments and other projects it's doing this year to local producers at its annual summer tour day. Most notably, the station is adding 31 new varieties of all its crops to avoid stagnancy to sustain and improve crop yields, testing the greenhouse gas emissions of different enhanced-efficiency fertilizers and assessing whether these fertilizers could improve the efficiency of fertilizer use. “Even before I start seeding the experiments, I share what sort of experiments I’m going to do with farmers and ask them if there’s anything else they would like us to do,” said Tarlok Singh Sahota, the station’s director, who personally meets with farmers in their fields and barns for these discussions. “So, this is a very shared program with the farmers and (the) farm will be closely linked with the farmers. I think this is probably the only substation in our country, not only in the province, that works so closely with the f

FedNor announces funds for agriculture, video series

The Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA) is getting federal funding support to strengthen Northern Ontario’s agri-food sector. Announced on July 25, the $702,713 in funds will improve local value chains, advance technology adoption, and promote sustainable practices, according to FedNor, which is providing the funds. NOFIA will also assess key production and procurement challenges, and explore infrastructure investments to support aggregation, storage, and distribution.  The idea is to expand market opportunities and increase demand for products produced in Northern Ontario. “This investment is a game-changer for agriculture in Northern Ontario. It allows us to strengthen our regional food systems, support producers of all sizes, and explore innovative technologies that will shape the future of farming in the North,” said Emily Seed, NOFIA’s executive director, in a news release. “By working together with communities and partners, we’re helping to build a more sustaina

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service