By Drew Spoelstra, Board Member, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
When you represent an industry as diverse as Ontario agriculture, you sometimes need to take a road trip for a firsthand look at the unique issues affecting a region. That’s just what the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) did when board and staff headed to northern Ontario for a road-show style August board meeting, based in Thunder Bay.
Local tours provided a close up view of a few different northern agriculture operations, with highlights of specific challenges that affect farming in farther reaching areas of the province. Some of the issues and opportunities may be unique to the north – from needing to clear land to be able to grow crops, what it means to operate a cheese processing business outside highly populated areas of the province, and experiencing what the local food movement means in the north.
A highlight of the northern tour was an inside look at the Thunder Bay grain elevators – home to the largest grain capacity in North America. The port moves wheat, durum, oilseeds, feed grains and pulse crops, and highlights the unique opportunities and vital role this northern area provides to the entire grain handling system in Canada.
At the business table, OFA directors focused on the concept of Ecological Goods and Services – a system that would see farmers compensated for environmental activities on the farm that benefit society at large. A carbon trading process for Ontario agriculture is a key topic as the province and the entire globe struggles with implications, management and ideas around climate change. And agricultural labour continues to be a challenge for many farm businesses, perhaps more so in less central locations like northern Ontario.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture represents farm businesses in every part of the province and in every sector of the industry. Travelling around Ontario for a few board meetings a year is the kind of working road trip that keeps regional issues at the forefront for OFA board and research staff.
Source: OFA