Rebound, recover, rebuild. Communities across Ontario have developed regional economic recovery task forces and resiliency committees to identify ways to strengthen their economies and rebound from temporary closures and reduced economic activity.
Commentaries
Read OFA’s weekly commentaries for our position and activities on the current issues and legislation impacting Ontario’s agriculture sector.
Connecting job seekers to opportunities in agri-food through Feeding Your Future initiative
Employers in the agriculture, food and beverage sector are looking for passionate, qualified candidates to fill diverse roles across the industry. While the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted a wide range of sectors with lost jobs and layoffs, the Ontario agri-food sector continued to employ over 837,000 people as an essential service to produce food for the province and beyond.
Ontario farmers value relationships built with essential foreign workers
Essential foreign workers are valued members of Ontario’s farming community. Do you know them? These men and women are integrated into the fabric of our family farms, and in many cases, become an extension of our farm family.
Bill 156 protects the safety of Ontario’s farm and food supply
Ontario farm families depend on the safety and security of their farms to raise livestock and grow and produce food to maintain a strong, reliable food supply for all Ontarians. Farms are not only our places of business, they’re our homes where we welcome family and friends and play with our children. The risk of unwanted visitors, trespassers and activists can have devastating impacts on the health and safety of our farms, families and their livestock.
Door is open for next wave of farm leaders with OFA zone elections
Leadership development and director recruitment are critical to succession planning for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). As a grassroots, farmer-led organization, we aim to develop leaders within our local county and regional federations to recruit and encourage them to pursue a role at the provincial level.
Celebrating Ontario’s bounty of fresh, affordable local food
Every year in early June, Ontario sets aside one full week, designated as Local Food Week, to celebrate and recognize the abundance of fresh, affordable local food we are privileged to have access to across the province. This year, the Local Food Week celebration runs June 1-7, 2020.
Ontario farm businesses working to adapt to a new reality
If there is one thing that has remained constant throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that farmers are experts at adapting to evolving situations and persevering through uncertainty. The resiliency of Ontario farmers to move forward and conduct business in a crisis environment was exemplified in the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s (OFA) latest survey results.
Let’s keep farm safety top of mind this spring
The importance of farm safety cannot be overstated, especially during the busy planting and harvesting seasons. Across the agri-food industry, we’ve all been touched by on-farm accidents and injuries. While farmers across the province are working tirelessly to plan and prepare for the upcoming growing season, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) encourages everyone to make farm safety a priority.
The time is now to support Ontario’s agri-food system with workable solutions
There’s no denying Ontario’s agri-food sector has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Farmers across all commodities have been greatly impacted by this crisis and have experienced loss of market access, increased production costs, supply disruptions, processing challenges and revenue loss. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) understands commodities are facing urgent situations and without immediate government support, these farm businesses may face financial jeopardy.
AgriStability enrollment an option for farm businesses anticipating financial hardship
If your farm business is anticipating financial hardship this year due to the impacts of COVID-19 or for any additional reason, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) believes this might be the year for Ontario farmers to strongly consider enrolling in the AgriStability program.