GUELPH, ON – Grain Farmers of Ontario, the province‘s largest commodity organization, representing Ontario‘s 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers is disillusioned by the lack of action for non-supply managed farmers by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture at their meeting on Tuesday in Ottawa.
After years of review to determine changes that will be meaningful, the Ministers of Agriculture once again provided lip service to the problems facing grain farmers in Ontario. The Agriculture Ministers announced yet another review rather than providing real solutions, while at the same time said they would provide full support for losses, that have yet to even occur, for those farmers in the supply managed sector.
“Non supply managed farms have been the hardest hit by worldwide trade wars and depressed prices, yet the Ministers of Agriculture announce money for supply managed farmers and consultations for the rest of us,” said Markus Haerle, Chair, Grain Farmers of Ontario. “Supply managed farmers have not even experienced the hurt and they have already received a cheque from the federal government. Our farmer-members are incurring sustained losses and the only promise they have is more meetings.”
We need compensation for our farmers to address the acute issues from trade disruptions, and farmers need BRM programming in place as a back stop for recovery once the markets are right.
“We are one of the largest sectors in Ontario and we are given platitudes and no action,” added Haerle, “We need Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ernie Hardeman, to be true advocates for Ontario farmers with the federal government.”
Source : GFO