On November 25th, 2013, DFA reps John Roosendaal, Ron Wilson, and myself, Sara Dillabough, Junior Farmer, participated in the North Dundas District High School (NDDHS) Career Day. The day was a big success for the school. There was a large turn-out of local businesses’ and entrepreneurs. Everyone came together and helped give the students an idea of all the jobs and career paths available to them. The students had to pre-register for the presentations they were interested in, and we had a full class for all three of our Ag segments. One class had a majority of teens that had parents who farmed, but there was another class where the interested teens were not from farming backgrounds. I had wonderful co-speakers who helped me show these teens a little bit of how Ag has developed, and is continuing to grow and diversify. These changes will require students with different skills and abilities to meet these future demands and growth. It was great to see the interest in Agriculture from our local  youth and NDDHS. 

www.agritalent.ca 

www.cahrc-ccrha.ca/

By Mark Reusser, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Only 5% of Ontario’s land base is suitable for agriculture. And since we have no way to make more soil, we need to hold on to all the productive land and soil we have.

As farmers, we know the importance of using our land for the greatest potential – with technology and conservation tillage practices to deliver the highest yields with the lowest impact. We take our responsibility seriously to provide safe and healthy food for those in our community and beyond.  And if the supply of available, productive agricultural land continues to dwindle, everyone will suffer.

Every day, prime agricultural land is lost to non-agricultural uses like housing and commercial developments and aggregate extraction. Statistics Canada reports illustrate this very clearly. In the five-year period between 2006 and 2011, nearly 260,000 hectares of farmland was lost. Whatever the reason, Ontario cannot sustain this level of land loss and continue producing enough food, fibre and fuel.

And if losing farmland to development, urban sprawl and encroachment wasn’t bad enough, our growing population is putting increasing pressure on farmers to produce more on less land. Based on the Ministry of Finance’s projections, Ontario’s population will grow from 13.5 million in 2012 to 17.4 million in 2036. That’s nearly 30% more people in 24 years. Feeding our own province on an ever diminishing supply of productive farmland is going to be tough. And we can’t forget the role Ontario farmers play in feeding our growing world population. With more mouths to feed and house and clothe, the value of preserving productive farmland should be rising in step with the population.

Ontario farmers have a keen interest in ensuring public policy does not jeopardize or destroy our most valuable resource – the land. We must have the assurance that neither urban expansion nor the presence of aggregates on or adjacent to our farms will prevent agricultural production. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is demanding the provincial definition of prime agricultural land be expanded to include Canada Land Inventory Class 4 soils, along with Class 1, 2 and 3 soils. The OFA is also advocating that aggregate extraction be prohibited from Canada Land Inventory Class 1, 2, 3 and 4 soils and specialty crop lands.

OFA expects the Ontario government will be reviewing existing land conservation strategies of the Niagara Escarpment, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation and Greenbelt plans in 2015. We are already preparing for this review by developing recommendations to these plans that will ensure the long-term protection of prime agricultural lands for farming.

The OFA believes farmland preservation is the number one issue affecting the sustainability of our industry. So when Premier and Minister of Agriculture and Food Kathleen Wynne challenged our industry to double our annual growth rate and create 120,000 jobs by 2020, we have a challenge back. Farmland is a non-renewable natural resource. In fact, it is a strategic resource. Make sure you are preserving the farmland we need to continue driving Ontario’s growth potential.

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For more information contact:

Mark Wales
President
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-773-6706

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

By Debra Pretty-Straathof, Executive Member, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Canadian farmers continue to face a considerable disadvantage when it comes to income tax calculation. That’s because farms are the only businesses in Canada severely restricted to offset losses from one business or income source against profits from another. It’s an important issue for farmers because many have off-farm employment to help earn extra income and finance large capital expenses such as farm equipment and land.

Young farmers and new entrants are particularly hard hit with significant out-of-pocket expenses needed to start farms. Many farmers – including those who are new to the sector – work jobs off the farm to help offset hefty farm business costs. They may also need to support the farm during low income or low price years. No other business owner in Canada faces this tax implication.

At issue for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the federal government’s interpretation of The Income Tax Act as stated in the 2013 budget-implementation bill (Bill C4). Section 31 of the act is unique to agriculture and in the past has controversially been interpreted to require that where a taxpayer has both farming and some other source of income, the non‐farm income must be less than the farming income in order for the taxpayer to be eligible to claim all farm losses.

Section 31 is an unfair representation of a farmer’s income level, and the OFA believes it’s a hindrance that could keep young people from the farm.  With more than 25% of farmers expected to retire in the next 10 years, this tax issue is counterproductive to attracting the next generation of Canadian farmers and investment in primary agriculture.

What’s most disconcerting is that this issue has already been addressed. In 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada, in the Craig v. The Queen, the court said that “if an examination of time, investment, industry engagement and proportion of daily routine determined that farming was the chief source of income or a component of that chief source, the loss deductions should not be limited.”

The federal government’s 2013 budget-implementation bill (Bill C4) is regressive in its interpretation as outlined in the 2013 federal budget. The OFA is joining with Canadian Federation of Agriculture members to call for Members of Parliament to support the Craig interpretation of Section 31 of the Income Tax Act. 

In Ontario, OFA members are encouraged to visit OFA’s lobby website www.actnow.ofa.on.ca to enter their postal code and email a letter on this important issue directly to their Member of Parliament.

Farmers should not be penalized for working more than one job to offset initial capital costs. And Canada’s federal government should respect the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada by maintaining the Craig interpretation of the act. It’s an investment in the long-term stability of Canadian farm businesses, and the continued talent, investment and innovation for Canadian agriculture.

For more information contact:

Debra Pretty-Straathof
Executive Member
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
613-371-8840

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