Ontario’s farmers get set to gather for annual convention

Nov 10, 2023

By Larry Davis, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Every year in November, members of Ontario’s largest general farm organization, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), come together for their annual convention.

I farm near Burford and I’ve represented farmers from Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk counties on the OFA’s provincial board of directors for more than 30 years.

As directors and as an organization, our job is making sure that the voices, concerns and needs of farmers and rural communities are heard by decision-makers – a job we do through direct advocacy with elected officials, political staff and bureaucrats from all three levels of government, as well as others with similar interests or common goals.

The convention, which will be in Toronto this year, is our opportunity to showcase what the OFA has done throughout the past year on behalf of its members. It’s here where our delegates from all over Ontario have the opportunity to raise issues and debate resolutions as they set policy and shape the direction of the OFA’s activities for the year ahead.

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Video: OFA statement on Canada-U.S. trade escalation and Canadian counter-tariffs

Following the implementation of Canadian counter-tariffs on approximately $27.6 billion in U.S. imports earlier this week, the immediate retaliatory measures announced by the United States, including threatened import bans on Canadian dairy and alcoholic beverage products, underscore the dangerous trajectory of this dispute. Tariff escalation is not a long-term solution.

As consumers on both sides of the border struggle with food affordability, trade disruptions and retaliatory measures only exacerbate these challenges. Ontario farmers continue to urge both federal governments to return to the negotiating table and secure a fair, durable trade agreement that protects producers and processors across North America.