Jill Verwey, president of Keystone Agricultural Producer in Manitoba, is the new first vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

Stephanie Levasseur, an apple grower from southern Quebec and a vice-president of the Union des Producteurs Agricole, is now second vice-president.

Pierre Lampron, who is also a past-president of Dairy Farmers of Canada, did not seek re-election. Todd Lewis, who had been first vice-president until recently, is now a senator.

Keith Currie from Ontario remains president.

All positions were filled by acclamation.

The delegates are discussing resolutions Feb. 26, including changes to AgriStability and other risk management topics and Canada’s response to potential American tariffs.

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The amount had been set to drop back to $100,000 at the end of this month after sitting at $350,000 for 2023.

Federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay announced the change March 25.

“In the face of so many challenges, our hardworking producers continue to show their resilience and produce top-quality products for Canadians and the world,” he said in a statement.

“Increasing the interest-free portion of the Advance Payments Program means improved cash flow and savings for farmers as we head into the 2024 planting season.”

Producers had asked for the amount to be raised after learning in late February it would change.

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan said it was happy with the decision.

“It’s what we had asked for, so we’re happy,” said president Ian Boxall.

He said program data supported $250,000 as the right number.

The APP offers $1 million to producers of 500 crop and livestock products who can borrow against expected production or produce in storage. The advances are based on up to 50 per cent of anticipated market value of those products.

In 2022, the government raised the interest-free portion to $250,000 and then again to $350,000 last year to deal with high interest rates and volatility.

The federal government said farm operating costs remain uncertain, and raising the interest-free portion would save 11,950 producers an extra $4,916 in interest costs, on average.

The total savings for producers is estimated at $58.7 million.

Support at the beginning of the production cycle allows farmers to buy inputs for the growing season. It also provides some marketing flexibility as producers can sell when it’s best rather than because they need cash.

At the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual meeting earlier this year, MacAulay had told producers he couldn’t grant their wish for a higher limit but the finance minister might be able to.

The Canadian Cattle Association had asked for the limit to remain at $350,000 but said $250,000 was a good step.

President Nathan Phinney said the APP is a useful tool, and a higher interest-free portion is a relief.

“This sustained increase comes at a time when producers need all economic levers at their disposal to increase food security and economic competitiveness,” he said.

CCA had said the lower limit was “untenable as it does not account for farmers’ current realities.”

“By maintaining the increase to interest-free portion of loans under APP, the federal government can demonstrate it recognizes the needs of producers — across commodities and across the country — who have been facing escalating input costs,” the association said in February.

Grain Growers of Canada also applauded the decision. Chair Andre Harpe said it would support thousands of grain farmers across the country.

“With the rising cost of inputs and low grain prices at harvest, a higher interest free portion of the APP is needed,” he said.

The GGC said announcing this decision early provides farmers with predictability and stability so they can plan their year ahead.

—Karen Briere writes for the Western Producer

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Surprisingly, it fell on the exact same day it did last year.

This was rather puzzling to me because like other Canadian consumers, my grocery bills have risen significantly over the last few years and seem to keep rising, something I grumble about after each store trip.

The CFA explained in a release that each year, it examines the proportion of income that Canadians spend on food “to explore year-over-year expenditure changes and raise consumers’ understanding of Canada’s food system, from farm-gate-to-plate.”

The organization said Food Freedom Day fell on the same day as 2023 because the change in the amount of disposable income Canadians spent on food between 2023 and 2022 was “slight”.

According to its calculations, Canadians spent 11.1 per cent of disposable income on food in 2023, compared to 11 per cent in 2022.

The CFA realized it needed to explain this “slight” increase and provide some context on the Food Freedom Day metric, as food prices have seen “multiple years of significant inflation” and the “average Canadian disposable income is not representative of every Canadian’s experience or the effects that rising food prices have on them.”

It notes that by global standards, “Canada’s food system continues to provide access to affordable food” and that “inflation and other global events have negatively impacted food affordability and security greatly over the past few years.”

The CFA wisely states that it continues to analyze Food Freedom Day “with an eye to the differential impacts food prices have on Canadian households based on household income levels to show percentage of disposable income” that they spend on food in the past year.

I’ve worked in agricultural media for a long time now, as long or nearly as long as Food Freedom Day has existed. It’s only in the last two years that the annual CFA Food Freedom Day press release has dived into greater detail on household spending, and the forces affecting food affordability and farmer profitability. It used to be a lighter, let’s-celebrate-agriculture-and- how-Canada-produces-plentiful-food-type of release.

While the latter is still certainly true, we are now in a battle with food inflation not seen for decades. And households with the lowest incomes are the hardest hit.

In a graph included with its release, the CFA breaks down Canadian households based on income into five groups, or ‘quintiles’.

In 2023, those in the lowest quintile spent 28 per cent of disposable income on food and beverages, an increase of 4.9 per cent over 2022. The highest income quintile spent only five per cent of their disposable income on food, a drop of 0.2 per cent from 2022.

It’s no wonder many food banks across the country have said 2023 had the greatest demand they’ve experienced, and many are at crisis levels.

Farmers of course are not profiting from food inflation, as the CFA clearly outlines. “Farmers have seen their costs of production increase tremendously over the past several years, with many of their largest expenses, such as fertilizer and diesel, rising nearly 100 per cent in that period,” it said, and that while Canadian have seen food prices increase steadily, farmers receive a small percentage of price consumers pay for food.

“Rising retail prices are not normally reflective of what is paid at the farm-gate.”

The CFA gives an example from a recent report from the Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan, which showed that “if the sole driving factor behind the escalating prices of bread were the increasing costs associated with wheat, the inflation rate for 2022 would have registered at two per cent. However, the actual observed inflation for 2022 amounted to a considerably higher 18 per cent.”

Getting the message across to consumers that farmers aren’t profiting from food inflation should be an important focus for many agricultural organizations this year.

I also think the idea of food “freedom” may need a rethink.

If you were someone who had to pay nearly 30 per cent of your household income on food to survive and feed your family, how “free” would you really be?

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She fills a vacancy in Prince Edward Island.

Robinson is a sixth-generation farmer and agribusiness operator in P.E.I. and current vice-president of the World Farmers’ Organization. She holds a bachelor of arts in economics and business.

She has worked for more than 25 years with the Robinson Group of Companies, which includes Eric C. Robinson Inc., Island Lime, P.E.I. Agromart and ECR Holdings.

She served as president of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture and chair of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council. She has been on numerous boards, including the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity and Agriculture Canada’s National Food Policy advisory council.

Robinson has received recognition for her work as one of the Top 25 most powerful women in Atlantic Canada by Atlantic Business Magazine and the P.E.I. Women’s Institute Outstanding Woman in Agriculture Award.

Named to the upper chamber Jan. 22 by governor general Mary Simon, Robinson will serve as an independent senator. Prime minister Justin Trudeau said her experience in agriculture and business “will bring an important perspective to the Senate, where she will be a strong voice for Atlantic Canada.”

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Ordinarily, it’s a straightforward affair where they note that by this date, the average Canadian has earned enough to pay their food bill for the year.

Its original intention seemed to be to encourage Canadians to reflect on how fortunate they are, and that the food produced by the nation’s farms really is a good deal.

But this year the CFA had to tiptoe a bit more lightly.

To put it bluntly, a lot of folks are stretched pretty thin these days, and they’re particularly anxious about the rising cost of feeding their families. One can hardly blame them.

This past fall, Statistics Canada found food inflation averaging 11.4 per cent, a 41-year high. Cereal was up 17.9 per cent, dairy 9.7 per cent and meat up 7.6 per cent, to just note a few of the increases. All those figures were substantially above the 6.3 per cent national inflation rate for 2022, also reported by StatsCan.

Meantime StatsCan also reported an average wage increase in 2022 of 4.2 per cent, which adjusted for inflation is actually a 2.1 per cent wage cut.

Suffice it to say that the aforementioned anxiety is now being translated into a bit of anger. So far, it’s been mainly aimed at the nation’s grocers with accusations of ‘greedflation.’

CFA has dove into these waters, with a more nuanced take on food costs than it has ever provided before, breaking the issue down by income level.

What CFA found isn’t pretty; it’s a snapshot of the emerging bifurcation of our society into haves and have-nots.

Its media release noted that Canadians paid 11 per cent of their disposable income on food in 2022, only slightly higher than the 10.7 per cent they spent in 2021. The group noted the finding would “… likely come as a surprise to many …” and went on to say that the average Canadian scenario wouldn’t fairly portray the struggles many are facing with rising food prices.

It’s when you look at the more indepth data a clearer picture develops. CFA divided Canadians into ‘quintiles’ — five evenly sized groups, divided by income. Not surprisingly they found the poorest 20 per cent of Canadians paid the largest share of their income on food expenditures in 2022, at 23.1 per cent. That’s compared to the richest 20 per cent of Canadians, who paid just 5.2 per cent of their income on food and beverages through the year.

The proportion of food and beverage spending is also rising much faster in poorer households. Those Canadians spent two per cent more of their income on food in 2022. The richest households saw their food cost them just 0.1 per cent more of their income.

CFA further addressed why there’s that disconnect. They noted that food and beverage spending is “… fairly rigid.” The richest households only spent 39 per cent more on food than the poorest, despite “…having more than 500 per cent more disposable income.”

One can certainly picture how that might play out — wealthier households might pick up a beef roast, or steaks, while a lower-income household might buy hamburger or forgo meat altogether. Yet hungry mouths must still be fed in both homes.

CFA then went on to make another crucial point, after having respectfully dealt with the economic reality for many Canadians, noting that the farmer share is just “…a small percentage of what consumers pay for food.” They also noted that key agricultural expenses had risen “nearly 100 per cent” in the past two years.

From a communications perspective, it was a very effective strategy for demonstrating common ground between farmers and grocery buyers.

“While our food costs are low when compared to global standards, Canadians are seeing their disposable incomes shrink as it is taken up by the increasing cost of essential products,” Mary Robinson, CFA president, was quoted as saying in the release.

“It is only through investing in resilience throughout our entire food supply chain that we can create a system less vulnerable to disruption that can provide Canadians affordable food even in the face of global supply chain disruptions.”

All-in-all it was perhaps the best use of Food Freedom Day I’ve seen in my entire career in agriculture media. It was a measured, nuanced take that builds bridges rather than hectored consumers. It was sensitive to their financial challenges and painted a clear path forward that would benefit all.

Other agricultural groups seeking to engage more closely with the Canadian public should take close look at CFA’s efforts here.

Convincing Canadians we’re all in it together will go a lot further than entrenching an us-and-them mentality.

– Gord Gilmour is editor of the Manitoba Co-operator. His article was originally published in the February 16, 2023 issue.

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A former president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture is taking the helm of Canada’s largest general farmers’ organization.

Keith Currie of Collingwood, Ont. was acclaimed as the new president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture this week during the CFA’s annual general meeting in Ottawa.

As CFA president, Currie replaces Mary Robinson of Albany, P.E.I., who had led the organization since 2019 and decided to step down from the post this year, the OFA said in a release Tuesday.

Currie, who served as OFA president from 2016 to 2020 and as CFA first vice-president since 2019, said he “look(s) forward to working with our members and stakeholders to advance the interests of Canada’s agriculture sector.”

The OFA on Tuesday hailed Currie, a hay and sweet corn producer, as a long-time advocate for the agriculture industry at both the provincial and federal levels.

“Keith has a wealth of knowledge, experience and insight when it comes to Canadian agricultural production and will be a valuable leader for our industry, OFA president Peggy Brekveld said Tuesday. “We are privileged to have an Ontario representative in this role and I have no doubt that he will continue to be a strong voice for farmers across the country.”

Currie is expected to lead the CFA in “advocating for policies and programs that support Canadian farmers and promote sustainable and profitable agriculture” and work to strengthen the CFA’s relationships with government officials and other stakeholders, OFA said.

Currie is joined on the CFA’s new executive roster by Todd Lewis as first vice-president and Pierre Lampron as second vice-president.

Lewis, who farms at Gray, Sask., just south of Regina, previously served from 2016 to 2022 as president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS).

Lampron, a dairy farmer in Quebec’s Mauricie region, has been president of Dairy Farmers of Canada since 2017 and replaces Lewis as CFA’s second VP. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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John Stackhouse is a senior vice-president of Royal Bank of Canada and author of the Farmer 4.0 report that delves into the transformation of agriculture.

Stackhouse was a participant in a panel discussion on innovation and resilience in agriculture at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual meeting in Ottawa on March 7.

He sat down with Glacier FarmMedia journalists Karen Briere and Gord Gilmour to discuss Canada’s strengths and weaknesses and the best road to progress.

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For the first time since at least 1980, according to a long-time member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, a sitting Prime Minister has spoken to the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA).

Liberal leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was a last minute addition to the agenda, joining Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, Green Party leader Elizabeth May and the Bloc Québécois’ Yves-Francois Blanchet.

Incoming CFA President Keith Currie said the turnout was exciting and showed that agriculture is taken seriously in Canada.

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Federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced Dec. 12 the launch of online consultations and an advisory committee to develop the Sustainable Agriculture Strategy. This was formerly referred to as the Green Agricultural Plan.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) will co-chair the committee with the federal agriculture department.

Why it matters: Farm groups will have the opportunity to weigh in on a national discussion on agricultural sustainability.

Bibeau said the committee includes producers, industry, stakeholders and experts and just had its first meeting.

“Members will work together to keep everyone connected and on the same page as we work collaboratively towards developing our strategy by the end of next year,” she said.

“This strategy is ambitious and transformative. We want to take the time to get it right. Our first step is getting input from all players across the sector.”

Consultations are open until March 31. Bibeau said technical workshops to “drill down” into the details will also be held.

The strategy will focus on five priority areas: soil health, climate adaptation and resilience, water, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity.

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The minister said producers will be fully involved in the process and be recognized for their work to safeguard the environment.

“It will track our progress as we work together to grow the sustainability of the sector through healthy soils, clean water and more biodiversity,” she said.

Bibeau said it’s also important that Canadian farmers be able to live a good life and earn a good livelihood while increasing environmental sustainability.

CFA president Mary Robinson said Canadian farmers today are faced with the challenge of growing more food while reducing environmental impacts. Substantial gains have already been made, she said, because farmers produce more overall with fewer greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, less water and energy.

“Farmers are highly invested in this,” she said.

“Soil is our most precious commodity. It is the foundation for all we do and we’re certainly not interested in spending any more money on inputs.”

Agriculture’s potential to be a net carbon sink positions it well in the climate change fight, she added.

Robinson said the committee includes industry organizations, environmental organizations and government departments that will examine “farm driven solutions that are scalable, environmentally beneficial, and ideally enhance the competitiveness of Canadian agriculture as global demands for agri-food products continue to grow.”

Terry Duguid, parliamentary secretary to environment minister Steven Guilbeault, said an agricultural environmental strategy is critical to the government’s efforts to reduce emissions.

“We know farmers are already strong partners. After all, they have the greatest stake in the fight against climate change,” he said.

Bibeau said she wouldn’t pre-judge what the specific outcomes attached to each of the priority sectors might be. Asked if regulations or legislation would be required to support the strategy, she said the spirit right now is to work collaboratively.

She and Robinson were also asked about food affordability in the context of sustainability. Robinson said the farmers’ role in the cost of food is small.

She added she likes the term sustainable intensity, which might confuse people who aren’t working in agriculture.

“I think of it in layman’s terms. When I go to buy a new vehicle, I’m looking for something that gives me the most miles per gallon, or kilometres per 100 litres, and what we’re talking about with agriculture is figuring out how to keep our footprint as small as possible but to produce the most,” she said.

“We’ve got to have that conversation.”

Twenty organizations are members of the advisory committee, including national farm associations, and others such as Fertilizer Canada and Ducks Unlimited.

– This article was originally published at The Western Producer.

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Each year, CFA examines the proportion of income that Canadians spend on food as a way to explore year-over-year expenditure changes and raise consumers’ understanding of Canada’s food system, from farm gate to plate.

Canadians spent 10.7 per cent of their disposable income on food in 2021, which is slightly lower than the 11 per cent of disposable income spent on food in 2020. Due to this, Food Freedom Day is now one day earlier, landing on February 8th, 2022.

Food Freedom Day falling on an earlier date than the previous year will likely come as a surprise to many, especially in the light of rising food prices and overall inflation. While Canada’s food system continues to provide access to affordable food by global standards, the pandemic has affected Canadian households in drastically different ways depending on their vocation, location and a wide variety of other factors. 

For some, disposable incomes have increased throughout the pandemic, particularly for those who had no disruptions to their livelihoods coupled with a lack of spending opportunities. Others have seen large drops in their disposable income due to shut-downs in their industries. These different realities are apparent when looking at the different quintiles of income by Canadian household in Canada to show the percentage of disposable income that they spent on food over the year. The graph below presents this information.

As can be seen in the graph above, there is a large difference between how much disposable income households in the lowest income quintile (21.3 per cent) and the highest income quintile (5.1 per cent) spent on food and beverages throughout the year. It should also be noted that food and beverage costs are fairly rigid. Those households in the highest income quintile only spent 30 per cent more on food and beverages than the lowest income quintile, despite having almost 600 per cent more disposable income.

This just reinforces the divergent realities experienced through the pandemic, with many harshly affected by the pandemic and struggling with rising food prices.

CFA would like to note that while Canadians have seen food prices increase steadily throughout 2021 on the grocery shelves, farmers receive a small percentage of the price that consumers pay for food, and rising retail prices are not normally reflective of what is paid at the farm gate. 

As a truly essential service farmers have demonstrated their resilience throughout these trying times and weathered the worst of the pandemic while continuing to provide safe, affordable and nutritious food for Canada and the world.

“This year we recognized the challenging realities faced by many households across Canada and while we want to continue celebrating Canada’s capacity to provide affordable food to many Canadians, we wanted provide more context in order to show the effects that food prices are having on different segments of the population,” said Mary Robinson, CFA President, in a release. “While it’s always great to see the overall figure improve, it’s also important to see the different realities in households across Canada, and reflect on what rising food inflation means for food security across Canada.”

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