As the holiday season comes upon us we often reflect back to see how well the past year went. It’s a time to mark the highlights of the year. For the CFFO, the year 2014 will be remembered as the year we turned 60. It was also a year in which the weather got our attention. And two things changed the rural landscape; grain prices were substantially different from the previous years and the provincial election brought in a majority government from mostly urban ridings.
The CFFO celebrated its 60th anniversary as an organization this past year by working with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, establishing some new projects and tagging onto some existing ones to end up with approximately 60 hectares committed to the Foodgrains Bank. It was exciting to be part of and a great way for us to share the celebrations by assisting in the fight against world hunger. We want to take this opportunity to thank all the donors and sponsors of these projects.
We all know that the weather effects the whole growing season. This season got a late start, remained cool all summer and ended wet so that the harvest is just finishing now. It reminds us once again that we are not in control of the weather and that farmers are working in accordance with the conditions, not the calendar.
After a stretch of years of solid profitability in cash cropping, which brought new highs in land prices, this past year turned things around. Lower grain prices and higher red meat prices will bring change to the industry. Will we question why so many fence lines were removed, so much pasture turned over and what impact that will have on the eco-systems of our rural country side? It seems we are always learning how our actions of one year will have an effect on the environment later on.
This past June’s provincial election brought in a majority government with mainly urban representatives. Rural Ontario did not bring in the government. This will change how agricultural policy is developed as the focus will now be on how policy is viewed by urban Ontario. Agriculture will need to re-examine its way of relating with their urban neighbours. This should be seen as a positive; the urban folks are our customers and agriculture does provide their daily food. In addition to being economically sound and environmentally responsible, developed policies need to be socially acceptable as well as.
As we close out the year, we can say that it was a year of positives and as a result there will be opportunities in the next year. Agriculture is always evolving and improving and we can look forward to another year of successes and challenges. At the CFFO, we look forward to those opportunities and challenges and another year of representing farmers in Ontario.
From the staff and Executive Board of the CFFO, we wish you all a blessed Christmas and holiday season.
Source: CFFO