The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is sowing seeds of advocacy through their ‘Home Grown’ campaign, launched during #Plant21. Home Grown aims to increase awareness of how farmland is a […] Read more
OFA’s Home Grown campaign aims to educate citizens on declining farmland
Support for Bill 216 addressing student food literacy is whipping up support
A private member’s bill advocating integrating experiential food literacy education into the provincial school curriculum is gaining traction. “I’m encouraged that literally across the spectrum, we’re getting broad acceptance, and […] Read more
Vegetable group lobbies for TFW quarantine fund
Quarantine requirements have added significant costs to farm operations
Temporary Foreign Worker quarantine costs continue to climb while federal support programs wind down, leaving farmers on the financial hook. “This is costing midsize family farms anywhere from $50,000 to […] Read more
COVID-19 underscores the labour shortage impact
Study shows sector vulnerability to labour shocks like a pandemic
COVID-19 has pushed the already-dire labour shortage in agriculture into sharp relief, and the numbers aren’t promising for the future. The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council’s (CAHRC) recent survey, Understanding […] Read more
Activists challenge Bill 156 constitutionality
Filings suggest appeal would be based on Charter rights and arrest provisions
Animal Justice and two co-applicants caused a media stir in March by submitting an application challenging the constitutionality of what they call Ontario’s “ag-gag” law. The Security from Trespass and […] Read more
Testing delays prevent TFWs from getting to work
Lost tests and longer-than expected results create farmer and worker stress
[UPDATED: May 13, 2021] The road to getting Temporary Foreign Workers from their flight to the field is fraught with COVID-19 challenges this season. Workers arriving at Pearson International Airport […] Read more
Vaccinations come to Ontario farm country
The local health unit interpretation of provincial guidelines determines local access
The agriculture sector isn’t needling the province to organize vaccine clinics for workers. Many employers are stepping up to make sure it gets done. Agriculture sector workers, including those in […] Read more
Activist acquittal could set precedent
Ruling won't have any bearing on charges under new trespass act
Animal activist Malcolm Klimowicz celebrated his criminal charge acquittal with an almost-18-minute video on Facebook. “The fur industry has attempted to punish me for publicizing the rampant animal cruelty I […] Read more
Province to fund worker safety, automation tech
The pandemic created risk where workers had to be close together
Ontario is investing $22 million to try to spark sector-specific innovation, especially related to worker safety. The Agri-Tech Innovation Program is a cost-share initiative spurring large and small farm operations […] Read more
Agriculture workplaces grapple with change
Flexible hybrid work options and managing a return to face-to-face interactions top the trends
A worldwide pandemic, technology and the ability to adapt on the fly have catapulted agriculture-based business into a new hybrid dimension that will likely continue. In rapid succession, the agriculture […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
