By Cathy Lennon, General Manager, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

At the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), we’re very proud of the fact that we represent farmers across the province. There are three general farm organizations in Ontario – groups like ours that represent farmers regardless of where they farm in the province or what they produce – and every year, farmers can choose which organization they would like to belong to.

OFA currently has about 38,000 members who are farms of all sizes and production types, from small market gardeners right through to large grain farmers trading grain on futures markets. This makes us unique among Ontario farm and agriculture organizations, as does the fact that we have members in every single corner of the province, making us truly representative of the diversity of our farming and food production.

There are several ways that farmers, farm businesses and agricultural organizations can hold a membership in the OFA. The most common membership options are the Farm Business Registration and Individual Farm Membership.

Less well known is that OFA’s membership also includes more than 30 Ontario commodity and agricultural organizations – from hazelnut growers to dairy farmers – who share our belief in the strength of partnerships and working together towards achieving common goals.

I’m proud to say that in recent months, we’ve been able to welcome three new commodity members to OFA: Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Goat and Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg and Chick Commission.

Every new member brings new perspectives to the OFA that help us gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of our sector and the diverse needs of our members. While we value and respect their roles and the leadership they provide for their specific commodity or sector of agriculture, their membership in OFA gives the broader industry the opportunity to leverage collaboration and where it’s appropriate, especially on common priorities.

All farmers, regardless of what type of farming they are in, face challenges with land use planning, taxation, environmental legislation, labour or research coordination, for example.

Respondents to the OFA’s 2024 Farm Business Confidence survey identified farm taxes as the top issue affecting their business, followed by energy costs. Protecting the right of property access and encouraging Ontarians to buy local food also ranked highly. In Northern Ontario, compensation for wildlife damage continues to be a leading priority.

By working together through OFA, we can see big picture trends, issues and opportunities across the spectrum and try to create, propose and support advocacy and programming that will help ensure the success and sustainability of all farmers.

Insurance is one such example. The high cost and inconsistency of insurance coverage affects a wide range of farmers and farm products in different ways. Heavy snow load in winter months can cause a barn or farm building to collapse. Christmas tree farmers and maple syrup producers who experience ice storm damage may not be eligible for crop insurance compensation. And farmers across the province are dealing with frustrating wildlife damage and losses to crops and livestock from sandhill cranes in the north and coyotes in the east to deer in the southwest.

OFA has the unique ability to take this collective member experience forward to insurers and government and propose workable solutions to address the gaps.

Another issue where collaboration has really helped identify the differing needs of Ontario’s various agricultural sectors is around interprovincial trade. On the surface, eliminating trade barriers seems like a good idea but it’s not until we began delving more deeply into the issue that we began to realize that, like so many things in agriculture, this is a complex situation that’s not as simple as first thought.

For apples, for example, what may appear as an interprovincial trade barrier actually protects Ontario farmers from having their markets disrupted by lower priced fruit from other areas. Additionally, rules and regulations limiting the movement of plants and trees between provinces may provide protection against bringing new diseases into Ontario.

OFA advocacy efforts work to ensure that farm voices are at the table so that sectors needs are identified and addressed and that there are no unintended consequences for agriculture.

It’s by working together collaboratively on these common priorities that we can help make a difference for farmers, and as organizations, support each others’ advocacy and outreach efforts.

We are committed to working with our members – from organizations representing the interests of Ontario’s next generation of farmers and francophone farmers to large and small commodity organizations, farm-related businesses and farmers’ markets – to strengthen and grow the Ontario agriculture sector.

 

For more information, contact:

Tyler Brooks
Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
519-994-2578
comms@ofa.on.ca