By Steve Brackenridge, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
​
After an inclusive and extensive consultation process, the Ontario government released its final Soil Health and Conservation Strategy document on April 23rd. The strategy sets out a detailed framework for sustainability that will guide the long-term health of agricultural soils through to 2030.
 
This document is an important one for the agriculture community for a number of reasons. Healthy soils are a priority for farmers and critical to the sustainability of Ontario agriculture. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), along with other industry partners and Ontario farmers were actively involved in the consultations and discussions on this complex topic. And the level of collaboration across the industry was unprecedented – helping the soil health working group pull the strategy together in its final form.
 
There are four main themes in the new soil health strategy – soil management, soil data and mapping, soil evaluation and monitoring, and soil knowledge and innovation. Each of these themes contain a set of key objectives and a list of proposed actions to achieve the objectives.  The strategy will serve as a key resource to revitalize interest in and the importance of provincial soil health, and provide a roadmap for provincial efforts and investments to conserve our soils for future generations. 
 
OFA understands that for some, farming practices may need to change to ensure long-term soil health. Some changes will be easy and may come from a simple technological fix or minor adjustment to current practices. Other changes will need a longer-term solution and a more thoughtful approach to soil management.
It is very important to note that the proposed action areas in the soil strategy will be voluntary and that implementation is in all of our best interests, from improving current and future yields to better carbon sequestration. Many of the proposed actions provide more detailed information to farmers to help manage soil health, provide incentives for health and conservation efforts, or promote the adoption of beneficial management practices that boost soil health and the bottom line.
 
OFA was pleased to be part of the working group that developed the strategy, and to help ensure the voices of farmers and stakeholders were heard through consultations on the draft strategy.
 
Improving soil health across the province will be a complex process, and OFA looks forwards to working with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and other agricultural stakeholders, to successful implement this new soil health strategy.
 
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For more information, contact:

Steve Brackenridge
Director
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
705-872-7629

Neil Currie
General Manager
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883

​Guelph, ON [April 24, 2018] – A new provincial soil strategy will preserve soil health and guide conservation activities for more than a decade. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) welcomes the recently released New Horizons: Ontario's Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy, a comprehensive resource for farmers across the province in soil management, mapping and monitoring.
 
“The unprecedented level of consultation and collaboration to develop this soil strategy is as much of a success as the strategy itself,” says Keith Currie, OFA President. The provincial soil health and conservation strategy was developed through collaboration with farm groups, agribusiness, government, conservation groups and researchers. “OFA was actively involved in the consultation process and Ontario farmers had the opportunity to share input on the draft strategy through open house meetings and online participation.”
 
Implementing the strategy will continue the collaborative efforts with already plans underway to start on strategic initiatives. “Improving soil health across Ontario will be a complex process, and we look forward to working with OMAFRA and the agricultural stakeholders to successfully implement the soil strategy,” says Currie. The recent announcement of the new Canadian Agricultural Partnership programs is a first step in supporting the implementation of soil strategy priorities.
 
The new long-term health strategy of Ontario’s soils will guide soil improvement activities, provincial efforts and investments until 2030. “Farmland preservation, improving and maintaining soil health are top priorities for OFA, and this strategy will serve as a key resource to revitalize interest in provincial soil health and provide a roadmap for conserving our soils for future generations,” says Currie. 
 
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 37,000 farm families across the province. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, the OFA works to represent and champion the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, research, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and more. OFA is the leading advocate for Ontario’s farmers and is Ontario’s voice of the farmer.
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For more information:
 
Keith Currie
President
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
keith.currie@ofa.on.ca
 
Neil Currie
General Manager
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
neil.currie@ofa.on.ca
 

By Keith Currie, President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
​
Ontario’s proposed high-speed rail offers nothing but problems for farmers and rural residents. The provincial government’s plan to connect Toronto to London by 2025, and eventually extend to Windsor by 2031, through a high-speed rail line is a contentious issue for the communities and landowners that will be affected. The line would create a new, permanent division across the province with its east/west fenced corridor, on expropriated farmland while eliminating wildlife corridors and natural drainage patterns.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) believes the proposed high-speed rail system will put farmers and rural Ontario communities at a serious disadvantage and the government’s intention to provide efficient transportation isn’t likely provide a net benefit for Ontarians. It’s possible the high-speed rail will address the needs of those commuting to and from major urban centres, reinforcing Toronto as the only destination for major economic activity.
This urban-centric proposal completely contradicts OFA’s recommended plan to distribute economic development throughout the province. Our Producing Prosperity in Ontario plan will strengthen our rural communities, enabling them to become sustainable with desirable jobs, infrastructure, education, health care and overall economic growth.
The proposed high-speed rail line also contradicts the recently revised Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe that recommends the development of ‘complete communities’. These are communities where people can live, work, play and shop, all within close proximity, reducing the need for residents to travel long distances to urban areas.
OFA’s more specific concerns include land expropriation that will take 12 acres of prime farmland out of production per kilometer of track. It will cut some farms in half leaving restricted or no access to fields and barns across an impassible corridor with no level crossings. A fenced corridor running from Toronto to Windsor will literally divide the province. This corridor will also require municipalities to reinvent its infrastructure and plans for emergency services, school bus transportation, farm equipment mobility and personal travel.
At an estimate of $21 billion to build the full high-speed rail line from Toronto to Windsor, the price alone isn’t sustainable. Given the magnitude and the costs of the changes the proposal would invoke, OFA is calling for a comprehensive economic analysis of this project – including the costs to residents, landowners, farmers and businesses that will need to be relocated or adjusted as a result of land expropriation. 
OFA agrees that fast, efficient and cost-effective public transportation is vital to both rural and urban Ontario. Improved rail transportation is one piece of a comprehensive, integrated transportation system for all of Ontario that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create more efficient travel time for commuters and require less highway expansion. That’s why OFA also supports the analysis of alternative transportation opportunities to meet these goals, including high-performance rail lines that would use existing railway track and eliminate the need for a permanent fenced corridor.  
 
The government’s current proposal for a high-speed rail line is not adding up to a net benefit for Ontario, not by a long shot. A high-speed rail line connecting Toronto to Windsor will impose significant and potentially devastating costs and consequences now and for future generations.  OFA simply calls for a real study of the costs and benefits to ensure we have transportation that makes sense. We have nothing to lose by being practical and everything to lose if we’re not.

 
For more information, contact:

Keith Currie
President
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
705-441-3362

Neil Currie
General Manager
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883
 

​Guelph, ON [April 5, 2018] – The Ontario government’s announcement of 11 new projects to expand natural gas in Ontario to rural, northern and First Nations communities is welcome news to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). OFA has been advocating for more affordable solutions to soaring energy costs for rural Ontario. The new projects are part of the Natural Gas Grant Program, a $100 million investment the government first announced in January 2017.
 
“This is a great start to connecting more of Ontario with natural gas,” says OFA President Keith Currie. “The energy savings, boost to farms and local businesses, and overall investment in the 11 communities listed in the announcement, are a step in the right direction.”
 
Rural Ontario has been hardest hit by energy inflation with most businesses, residents and farms relying on electricity, propane or heating oil for energy. OFA has been advocating for the expansion of natural gas as one of the most important investments the government can make to support the sustainability and growth of rural Ontario. 
 
“We’ve crunched the numbers and we’ve shown them to the government,” says Currie. “An annual investment by the government of $75 million over 20 years would see more than $1 billion dollars in annual savings for Ontarians. That’s money that could be reinvested in local rural communities.”
 
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 37,000 farm families across the province. As a dynamic farmer-led organization based in Guelph, the OFA works to represent and champion the interests of Ontario farmers through government relations, farm policy recommendations, research, lobby efforts, community representation, media relations and more. OFA is the leading advocate for Ontario’s farmers and is Ontario’s voice of the farmer.
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For more information:
 
Keith Currie
President
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
keith.currie@ofa.on.ca
 

OFA members weigh in on PAC discussion issues

By Crispin Colvin, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
​
Regular grassroots input from Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) members guides the direction of many of our organization’s priorities and policies, and most importantly member feedback strengthens OFA’s advocacy work.
A recent survey asked OFA members for input on some key issues our Policy Advisory Council (PAC) is addressing. We asked members for feedback on fuel taxes, the upcoming provincial election and new restrictions on veterinary medicine use. Consulting with members is another way to help PAC focus on issues that are relevant and timely for Ontario farm businesses.
More than 1,100 members took the online survey. The full results will be discussed at the April PAC meetings, and these are some of the highlights.

• More than 80% of survey respondents use coloured diesel on their farms
• More than 50% believe the price of coloured diesel is reasonable when compared to clear diesel after accounting for additional handling costs
• 24% of survey respondents attend events to speak to local provincial election candidates to advocate for agriculture
• More than 50% of survey respondents have an existing veterinarian-client-patient relationship
• More than 10% of survey respondents live at least 50 km away from their local veterinarian

PAC is an elected group that includes representatives from every county and every OFA agricultural organization member in Ontario. The group meets up to four times a year to help guide OFA’s policy and program development. The survey results will be reviewed and discussed as they relate to proposed regulatory changes that could impact Ontario farmers. Thank you to all OFA members who responded to the survey, your feedback is valuable and will help shape the direction of our advocacy efforts.
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For more information, contact:

Crispin Colvin
Director
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-868-7317

Neil Currie
General Manager
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-821-8883