Lobb, Thompson hear from local farmers at Federation of Agriculture forum
BY LISA BOONSTOPPEL-POT
Food sovereignty is on the minds of farmers and politicians, as one Huron County Federation of Agriculture member hopes the government will one day spend $50 million to produce food instead of investing in battery storage.
Where the government invests its money is often a hotly-debated issue, but some farmers and politicians were calm, if a little miffed, at the idea that the Government of Canada is investing $50 million in a battery storage project (and looking for more sites) while agriculture requires a huge investment in facilities to process hogs, beef, chicken and dairy in Ontario.
Currently, tens of thousands of hogs are transported to Quebec and the United States to be processed due to lack of processing facilities in Ontario. For years, beef and hog representatives at the Huron County Federation of Agriculture’s MP/MPP and Local Politicians’ Forum have asked Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb and Huron Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson for more processing space. Every year, the pair hear the same “asks” and nod their heads in agreement.
They do actually agree and agricultural leaders know this. Every year the two representatives are thanked for their commitment to agriculture and using their voices to promote and ask for what farmers in Huron and Bruce Counties need.
Repeated requests for more processing space resulted in the 2023 announcement that the federal and provincial governments are set to invest more than $13 million to help the meat processing sector in Ontario to make upgrades that they need. Made through the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership, the five-year investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments is worth $3.5 billion in total.
Anyone who has travelled down the 401 should be amazed by how many tankers and trucks are heading east, only to come back with finished goods, said Ben Lobb who, along with Thompson, held court at the Clinton Legion on April 5 to listen to agricultural leaders share their successes, impact on the economy and make asks in support of their commodity organizations.
“With aging infrastructure, we have nowhere to ship milk if a large breakdown occurs,” said Lieven Verschaeve, representing the Huron County Dairy Producers. “Along with these concerns, Ontario is also short on dairy ingredient processing, which increases the risks of more imports coming into Ontario.” Verschaeve wants a “large processing plant” to be built in southern or southwestern Ontario, where a large percentage of dairy farmers produce milk.
Again, Lobb and Thompson are supportive of the idea and have funds to back their belief. It’s just that farmers can’t discount the need to fund energy as well.
The thing is, said Lobb, that competing interests do need to be understood. “It’s a balance. We do need hydro, nuclear and natural gas… that is reality. If we want to be in the dark and have blackouts in eastern Ontario, then we can put our heads in the sand and feel good about ourselves. But if we want to grow our economy and have young people come here and stay here… then we need energy.”
Agriculture is the key economic driver in Huron and Perth Counties, but people need housing, jobs and infrastructure. How can all these needs be met? Food sovereignty is also a burgeoning issue since COVID-19 revealed Canada’s fragility in regards to its reliance on exports.
Phil Van Raay, representing pork producers, says hog farmers have lost 54 per cent of their abattoirs since 1999, but if new processing plants could be built or expanded, Ontario “could protect its future if borders closed” due to the ongoing threat of potential border closures to live animal exports if diseases such as African Swine Fever take hold in Ontario. “If that border closes, 50,000 pigs need to find a home and as we know, pigs do not stop growing.”
You can’t eat batteries, one farmer said. Lobb agreed. “We must have leadership and a federal government that listens to our farmers, ranchers and food processors and who sees agriculture for what it has truly proven to be: an integral part of the solution, rather than the problem,” stated Lobb in his report. He recognized that farm expenses grew by 21.2 per cent in 2022, the largest gain since 1974. Carbon tax as part of that was a topic addressed repeatedly during the meeting.
Keith Black, representing the Grain Farmers of Ontario, said the carbon tax is going to cost grain farmers billions. “We continue our advocacy for Bill C-234, an act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. It would give farmers relief from carbon pricing on fuels (natural gas or propane) used for on-farm grain drying. With no viable alternative fuels available, the cost to farmers will exceed more than $2.7 billion by 2030.” Bill C-234 is Lobb’s Private Member’s Bill, which has received third reading, but amendments to it are still under consideration.
“I think it is setting an all-time record for a Private Member’s Bill,” said Lobb. Debate on the bill is ongoing at the time of this article and Lobb admits it’s frustrating, especially for farmers and anyone who relies on natural gas. “When seniors look at the gas bill and see the carbon tax is more than the actual gas they use, that is frustrating.”
Rick Kootstra, representing the Huron County Egg Farmers, said the carbon tax’s “tentacles reach out to just about everybody and we are noticing less egg consumption, or a change in consumption because people are visiting restaurants less.”
Thompson said she started a letter to support Bill C-234 and was part of a recent rally with “everyone from agriculture to mushroom growers and other commodity organizations. We will not stop. This ideology is failing all Canadians and is doing nothing but driving up the cost of everything.” She encouraged farmers to explain to other Canadians that farmers are not exempt from the carbon tax, except for coloured diesel fuel. “We need to continue to talk at all levels about how the carbon tax is raising the cost of production and as it aggregates through the value chain, it hits the consumer.”
TRADE
Lobb praised Thompson’s “Grow Ontario” strategy for putting a “face to the name” and increasing the credibility of Canadian agriculture. He also believes Ontario’s ports and shipping lines need to be “rock-solid” for Ontario to match agriculture credibility with shipping credibility.
“It is vitally important that we keep our ports going, have labour behind them and properly fund the officials that work there,” said Lobb. “We need to look at diversity at our ports and what we can ship so we aren’t so reliant on Hamilton, Toronto, Halifax and Montreal. We have officials here from Goderich… who can you partner with for expansion?”
Thompson said Grow Ontario’s strategy is to increase exports eight per cent annually. “From the fall of 2022 to the fall of 2023, we increased our exports by 20 per cent,” saying that bodes well for increased consumption of food grown and produced in Ontario. She said Ontario farmers need to get better at marketing, referencing a grocery store in Vietnam that had a photo and story of the Ontario hog farm above the very pork it was selling. “It makes me ask, ‘why we aren’t doing that at home?’” She also hopes that the federal government uses $1 billion to create a national school food program in which Ontario food will be used when feasible.
A recent trade mission to Mexico targeted the bakery sector and “man, was it successful,” Thompson said. The mission included farmers, millers, bakers and commodity traders.
RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Every year, the beef, grain and sheep farmers ask for an increase to the Risk Management Program, which supports farmers during lean years. Thompson said the program is working as it should, but admits it needs to be “scalable” to match the increase of production in Ontario.
Black said there have been incremental improvements with one being that money in the fund was carried forward instead of taken back by the government. This allowed grain farmers to save a substantial sum, which was vital during last year’s poor crop situation. “We need to prorate the program so that it is working the way it should,” said Black.
KUDOS
Each commodity had a chance to share how many farmers they represent and what they contribute to the economy, which indicated the scope and importance of agriculture in Huron County.
• There are over 12,500 beef farmers in Ontario contributing 2.69 billion to the GDP and creating 61,000 jobs.
• Grain farmers in Ontario add $10.4 billion to the GDP and provide more than 90,000 jobs in the province.
• There are 52 egg quota-holding farmers in Huron County producing 24 million dozen eggs annually with a farm sale value of more than $56 million. They represent about nine per cent of Ontario’s egg producers, which are associated with more than 7,000 jobs in Ontario.
• Huron County hog farmers marketed over 1.25 million hogs last year and are part of a pork sector in Ontario that employs 18,347 full-time job equivalents while contributing $1.34 billion to the GDP
• Ontario sheep farmers number about 3,000 and contribute $100 million to the Ontario economy, $207 million to Ontario’s GDP and sustain more than 3,500 jobs.
• There are 191 family-run chicken farms in Huron, producing $165.6 million worth of chicken. Provincially, chicken farmers support 28,950 jobs and contribute over $5.3 billion to the Ontario economy.
Thompson applauded grain farmers for all the money they put into research, allowing them to increase production of grains and oilseed by 60 per cent since 2019 and for calling a “spade a spade”.
Thompson and Lobb thanked dairy farmers for being generous in donating chocolate milk to firefighters’ breakfasts, school events and Christmas parades. Chicken farmers were also appreciated for their donations to the food banks across the country. Egg farmers were praised for “leading by example” in terms of biosecurity in regards to Avian Influenza. “As I watch migratory birds overhead, I say ‘Godspeed’ and ‘get over Huron and Bruce as fast as possible!’” said Thompson.
LEADERSHIP
Beyond the kudos to farm organizations for leading farmers into change and success, Thompson talked about a new initiative to bring leadership training and capacity building to farm leaders across the province. “We are partnering with agricultural societies across Ontario to bring in training on board governance and capacity building,” she said. Also, investment is being made to help students and second-career adults learn about and choose careers in the Ontario agri-food sector.
INFLATION
The Farm Finance Committee discussed the value of land increasing by 10 per cent last year and with income declining the last two years, how hard it is for young farmers to get started. Everything is costing more. “Some farm equipment has climbed 25 to 62 per cent in cost over the last two years,” said Huron County Federation of Agriculture President Murray Workman. Interest rates passing seven per cent only adds to the concern.
Thompson said quick math shows that someone who purchases a parcel of land for $1 million and pays 20 per cent down, is still facing a $7,000 to 8,000 interest payment per month. “That is tough for young people to get their head around, let alone make in terms of financing,” she said.
Thompson imagines a different approach for young people. Investing in smaller parcels of land, for example, could create room for more niche-farming opportunities, such as wineries.