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.

This week, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is heading to Queen’s Park to meet with members of our provincial government. This is our first outreach day since last June’s provincial election, so it will be both an opportunity to visit with re-elected MPPs as well as get to know some of those who are serving their first terms at Queen’s Park.

In Canada’s agriculture sector, last year’s announcement by the federal government about fertilizer emissions reductions has stirred plenty of conversation and confusion.

Spring is just around the corner and that means farmers will soon be hitting the fields to get this year’s crops into the ground. It’s a busy time of year, which makes it more important than ever to keep safety top of mind.

Women have long played a very pivotal although often unseen role in Canadian agriculture. Traditionally, that role has been one of support, from doing the farm books and helping with chores, to raising the family, managing the household and whatever else was needed behind the scenes to keep things running.

A statistic that is often used in relation to our agriculture sector is the fact that Canada’s farmers are getting older, with the average age nation-wide being 56. That means a lot of farm businesses will be changing hands in the next 10 to 15 years as older farmers retire.