It will cost Ontario farmers up to $1.25 billion for inputs for this year’s grain crops, according to estimates compiled by the Grain Farmers of Ontario.
Released on Wednesday, the input figure – which includes seeds and seed treatments, fertilizers and pesticides - is based on Statistics Canada’s March 2016 intentions of principal field crop areas for Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture’s 2016 Field Crop Budget per-acre input costs.
“Every year farmers invest significant financial resources in their crops,” Mark Brock, Chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario, said in a release. “At this time of year, our expenses are high and turning a profit at harvest is never a guarantee. It’s not uncommon for a farmer to spend several hundred thousand dollars just to get their crops started.”
Across the province, most regions are experiencing reasonable planting conditions, but warm weather, which has finally arrived this week, is needed for germination of the spring crops. Farmers are anxious to see their crops emerge, as planted seeds are vulnerable to soil-borne insects. Grain farmers operate on small profit margins, so the financial risk of seed or crop loss is significant, the release said.
According to a Statistics Canada farm income report released earlier this week, Ontario crop receipts through the first quarter of this year amounted to $988.8 million, down 3.4% from the same quarter a year earlier
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