In bringing a message, it often isn’t about one voice. It is many voices, one message. Ontario’s farmers have been vocal – and united – in recent weeks in asking the provincial government to take a pause on its recent proposed Provincial Planning Statement and proposed Bill 97. We are thankful that government has listened to our most significant concern and is taking steps to address it.

The belief in the strength of community and of giving back runs deep in Ontario, particularly in rural areas of our province. Two years ago, when many farming and rural communities were struggling under the burdens and impacts of the pandemic, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) created its Revive Fund.

Experts agree that in today’s connected world, it’s a matter of when, not if, a business will face a cyber security problem. Breaching incidents of all kinds, whether it’s compromised information, financial fraud or data that is held hostage until a ransom is paid are on the rise, and agriculture is not immune to these threats.

Together with Ontario livestock organizations, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has identified the critical shortage of veterinarians, especially those active in large animal medicine, as one of the biggest problems facing farmers in this province.

It’s springtime in Ontario and after the long winter months, Ontarians everywhere are heading outside – for recreation, gardening, or in the case of farmers, for planting crops.

That means you’ll see more large tractors and farm equipment on the roads as farmers travel from field-to-field and farm-to-farm to work their land and get crops in the ground. Many of those roads are also used by trucks and cars, which makes road safety for both farmers and motorists essential to help all of us prevent accidents.

As an organization representing farmers, Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) needs to know both the realities of the current situation as well as look forward to the kind of future we want for our sector and for Ontarians. Knowledge is critical when you’re taking positions on issues for the farming sector and our rural communities and that’s why we support and invest in research.

April 22 is Earth Day. It marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement and efforts to raise awareness of the need to protect the Earth and its natural resources for future generations.

Canada is in the midst of a housing crisis and different levels of government are introducing various measures to try to ease the pressure. For the federal government, one of those measures is the Underused Housing Tax Act that became law last year.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) returned to Queen’s Park recently for its first in-person outreach day since the start of the pandemic. Outreach events are when the OFA board directors and executives spend the day meeting with provincial politicians from all parties and their staff to familiarize them with Ontario agriculture and the issues that matter to farmers and rural communities.

There was some welcome news for farmers in the Ontario budget released last week. The provincial government announced new funding for veterinary training, and an agricultural soil health and conservation strategy, as well as ongoing investments into expanding high-speed internet access across Ontario.

All three of these areas are ones where the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) had identified a need for investment and had been encouraging the provincial government to support to ensure the ongoing resilience of our food system.