Ontario grain farmers continue to face financial risks due to high input costs and low commodity prices, Grain Farmers of Ontario Chair Jeff Harrison said at the organization’s annual meeting at the Craigowan Golf Club north of Woodstock Sept. 9.
Dry conditions throughout some parts Ontario, coupled with a tariff on fertilizers imported from Russia, have affected many farmers operating on tight margins. The changing economic landscape was one of the key points of discussion at the GFO annual meeting, held on the first day of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2025.
At the forefront of discussions was the impact of tariffs on fertilizer for the grain industry. In 2022, Canada implemented a 35 per cent tariff on Russian and Belarusian goods, including fertilizer, following the invasion of Ukraine. The result has been a shortage of available fertilizer and the cutting off of urea supplies from the area.
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Harrison said the GFO has spoken with all levels of government about the negative effects on pricing and product availability.
“All we really want is an open market, and the ability to be able to have competitively priced fertilizer,” Harrison told those in attendance. “It’s a challenging market for everyone.”
He said the GFO is continuing to press for more open markets in an effort to create more stability. He said this has resulted in talks about an increase in domestic production.
With the expansion of the market will come the need for accessible ports. Harrison said that the organization is in talks with the federal government to help improve access to the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes. He noted that there are significant infrastructure plans underway to help enhance Canada’s competitiveness globally.
“Any way we can get more product out in an easier way, I think, will benefit all of us as farmers,” he said.
Other key issues the organization will be keeping on its radar heading into 2026 include working with local conservation areas across the province to ensure that there is a cohesive relationship. Harrison noted that the goal is to ensure that conservation efforts do not impede farming practices.
“There’s been a fair number of discussions with the provincial government around making sure conservation authorities basically are not getting in the way of farmers’ ability to farm,” Harrison said.
He acknowledged the environmental landscape varies greatly within the province.
“Some of those conservation efforts have already worked very well; some do not,” he said. “We’re hoping that we can resolve some of those challenges by having them embrace the farm, making sure not to protect them through whatever work that they’re doing.”
Finally, Harrison pointed to concerns regarding new regulations on the farming industry and the impact this will have on farming.
“We’ve had numerous discussions with the Ministry of Transportation over this past number of months, focusing a lot on some of the new safety requirements that have come in on the trucking side of things,” he said, adding that many of the regulations are designed for transport trucks that use major corridors like the 400-series highways.
“We have made the case for the Ministry of Transportation that there needs to be some change for farmers to make things realistic,” he said.
He concluded the GFO will continue to advocate to the government on these issues as well as ongoing issues such as carbon taxes and biofuel regulations.
“Canada has the rare privilege of being able to feed not only itself but also help feed others. Ontario’s grain farmers take their job seriously. We grow grain for millions of people across the globe,” he said. “In a time of global uncertainty, strengthening our ability to reach new markets is key to the growth of ag production.”
For more coverage of the GFO annual meeting, see the next print edition of Farmtario.
For more of our coverage of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2025, visit our landing page.
