An answer to a follow up question on a conference call by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada minister Marie-Claude Bibeau struck a nerve last week. Bibeau said that the carbon tax on fuel used for grain drying wasn’t a significant enough percentage of operating costs to qualify for an exemption to the “price of pollution.” In… Read More
Tag: Grain Farmers of Ontario
The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) have released a second video outlining the organization’s displeasure with the Trudeau government’s agricultural policy in comparison to the United States. The video titled “Does Justin Trudeau want Canadians to rely on the United States for our food supply?” is 30 seconds in length and focuses on the ad… Read More
Markus Haerle, chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario, says the producer group’s recent social media and radio campaign is aimed at getting the federal government’s attention and at pushing Ottawa to quit stalling on making improvements to business risk management tools, so that these programs can address shortfalls and challenges in the industry. Reaction… Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) has launched a social media, radio, and television campaign to bring awareness to the plight of grain farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ad calls out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian government for not doing enough for farmers, in comparison to what U.S. President Donald Trump has… Read More
Thanks for tuning in to our mid-week edition of RealAg Radio! We’ve got a great line-up for you on today’s show. You’ll hear: The top ag news stories of the day with host Shaun Haney; Dr. Jason Lusk of Purdue University, with a part of his conversation with host Shaun Haney on yesterday’s RealAg LIVE!… Read More
The federal government has released its second round of support aimed specifically at the agriculture industry, and reaction to the $252 million (split between three initiatives) has been swift and consistent: it’s not enough. Below is industry reaction from several commodity organizations, including those to whom a portion of the targeted funds will flow. The… Read More
Beef Farmers of Ontario, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Veal Farmers of Ontario, and the Ontario Sheep Farmers are collectively asking Ontario’s Premier and the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to immediately move to fully fund the Ontario Risk Management Program (RMP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Representing over 50,000 Ontario farmers, the groups say… Read More
Demand shifts in the Ontario corn market could mean more of the crop heads to the European Union this year. That could pose a problem for the industry, as certain new hybrids with stacked traits are not yet approved for entry into the EU. Each individual trait at issue is approved, but because of how… Read More
As of now, there haven’t been any ethanol plants closed in Ontario, but there are reports that many plants are dialing back production amid the COVID-19 pandemic. What does that mean for overall corn demand and, of course, price? Crosby Devitt, the new CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario, says that as of right now,… Read More
Grain Farmers of Ontario has named Crosby Devitt to serve as chief executive officer as of April 1, 2020. Devitt will replace retiring CEO, Barry Senft. Ontario’s largest commodity organization, representing 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers, says Devitt was the successful candidate following a five-month CEO search. “The CEO search brought forward… Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) recently surprised many in the industry with its immediate withdrawal from the Grain Growers of Canada. While the exit itself bears dissecting, the underlying — and growing — discontent with the federal agriculture department requires just as much discussion. Markus Haerle is the chair of GFO and a grain… Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) has withdrawn its membership from national policy organization Grain Growers of Canada. GFO had only recently joined the organization in 2018, at the same time as SaskFlax and Productuers du Grains du Quebec. Markus Haerle, chair of GFO, says his organization left, in part, due to the lack of… Read More
Less than a day after the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture had their meeting in Ottawa, farm groups are expressing their frustration with the lack of results from the meeting. Many feel as though the group missed the mark to address key concerns after a lot of producers dealt with a brutal harvest for the… Read More
Eight days later, the CN Rail strike is over. RealAg Radio host, Shaun Haney takes a little credit for the agreement reached between the two parties as he planned today’s show all-around diving in deeper to how the CN strike is impacting producers across Canada. Tuesday’s show still surrounds the strike, but more so on what… Read More
In just a few days, Ontario’s corn harvest ground to a halt. Not because of Mother Nature’s wrath this time, but because of an abrupt end of the supply of propane that fuels dryers to dry the corn to a safe level. Barry Senft, CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario, says that the rail strike… Read More