Provincial Investment in RMP Strengthens Ontario’s Beef Sector

Jan 28, 2025

The Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) and its members are thrilled to learn of the Government of Ontario’s decision to increase their annual investment in the Ontario Risk Management Program (RMP) by $100 million. The announcement, to raise the provincial investment from $150 million to $250 million, which will be phased in over three years, was made this morning by Rob Flack, Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness at a farm in Elgin County, and reflects a request that BFO and its allied members of the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition (OASC) have been promoting for several years.

Designed as a partnership between the province and farmers who are not protected by the supply management system, RMP is a cost-shared insurance program that helps stabilize the grains, horticulture and livestock sectors by providing insurance for farmers against market volatility and production risks. Ontario farmers who are enrolled in the program, contribute 35 per cent of the costs through annual insurance premiums.

“This is one of the most important investments the province could make for our sector,” shares Craig McLaughlin, BFO President. “As beef farmers, we’re facing inflation and higher costs of production associated with raising livestock, fluctuating weather patterns and trade uncertainties, all of which, go far beyond what we can mitigate through good management practices alone. As an association, we’ve remained steadfast in our position that the best remedy for these risks, and to help sustain our beef production and grow our economic output as a province, is to increase Ontario’s investment in the RMP.”

“Growing input costs and increasing uncertainty and risk in the marketplace really underpins the critical importance of having well-funded insurance programs like RMP,” explains Richard Horne, BFO Executive Director. “Minister Rob Flack has been an absolute champion of this request from day one. We would be remiss if we didn’t also acknowledge the groundwork laid by Minister Lisa Thompson and former Minister Ernie Hardeman for their recognition and support of the value this program provides to farmers and Ontario’s economy.”

For several years, Ontario farmers, represented by the non-supply managed commodities and through the work of OASC, have been unified in their request for the province to increase its investment in RMP by raising the program cap from $150 million to $250 million annually to ensure farmers have the tools to manage today’s food production risks.

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Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?