The pressures of inflation, high interest rates, tax increases and global conflicts are having an impact on Ontario’s farmers.

For an advocacy organization, informed decision-making is critical and you’re often only as credible as the facts and figures supporting your position.

Even though the weather hasn’t caught up to the calendar just yet, we’ve just turned the corner into spring. It means a new planting and growing season will shortly be upon us – but it also signals a wind down of winter or what farmers often jokingly call “meeting season”.

Agriculture as a sector often has unique needs when it comes to accessing services, such as banking, financing, and even telecommunications and energy, to name just a few.

With the weather warming up, farmers start to become eager to hit the fields and get spring planting underway. That’s still a few weeks away, though, so now is a great time to give some thought to staying safe and healthy as we go about our daily jobs and lives on the farm. After all, for us the farm isn’t just a workplace, it’s also where we live and raise our families.

Historically, agriculture in Canada has been a male-dominated industry, but women have always played very pivotal roles in farm businesses – just mostly behind the scenes or in a supportive rather than leading capacity.

This week, farm leaders from across Canada are gathering in Ottawa for the annual general meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA). It’s our opportunity once a year to get together as farmers from across the country and share our concerns and priorities on issues that are national in scope – like trade, climate change or soil health to name just a few – in hopes of coming up with solutions that will work for everyone.

Tax season is coming up and while it’s always important to stay on top of deadlines and new rules, there are changes to three specific federal tax filing requirements that farmers should pay particular attention to for 2024.

For any business owner, planning for the future involves serious decision-making about what will happen to the business. Whether transition to a next generation family member or sale to a new owner, the process requires careful thought and planning.

Much is always made of the high average age of Canadian farmers, but there’s a quiet shift happening in agriculture that is changing the face of our industry. Quite literally, farming is in transition – and I’m one of many farmers right in the middle of it.