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Tag Archives ontario federation of agriculture — page 4

Premier Ford makes the announcement of the closure of non-essential businesses on March 23.
News

Agriculture and supply chain part of essential service list

COVID-19 driven shut down of non-essential Ontario businesses to start at the end of Tuesday

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Updated March 23, 9 p.m. to include details about essential service listing and agriculture businesses. Ontario’s non-essential businesses will be shut down as of midnight Tuesday night in order to continue to fight COVID-19. Alist released late Monday, March 23 includes farmers and the agriculture supply chain on the essential list. Ontario Premier Doug Ford […] Read more
soybean planting
Crops, News

Crop input availability should be normal despite COVID-19

Farmers should take steps to limit risk of future disruption, says GFO CEO

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Barring some changes to business interaction behaviours, producers should be able to access production inputs as usual this growing season – but accessing seasonal labour is another story.   Why it matters: Currently, the supply of fertilizer, chemicals, seed, and other inputs remain unaffected by the spread COVID-19 and subsequent mitigation efforts.   Keith Currie, president […] Read more
Waterloo Biofilter field technician Chad Welch helped install the phosphorus removal and recovery technology and is operating the system.
News

More technology tested for phosphorus removal

The latest innovation will filter water at a pumping station, from tile and surface runoff

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The Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Collaborative (PRC) is moving ahead with the testing of additional technologies that intercept and remove phosphorus from agricultural runoff. Phosphorus entering the system contributes to the growth of harmful algal blooms in the Thames River and Lake Erie. In one of the projects west of Chatham, a removal and recovery […] Read more
Pushing back against pot
Crops, News

Pushing back against pot

The rapid expansion of cannabis production in rural areas has prompted residents, farmers and municipalities to call for a slowdown in growth

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Ontario’s rapidly growing cannabis production sector is facing a backlash after the addition of many new growing facilities has resulted in interim control bylaws from municipalities and the formation of local protest groups unhappy with smell and traffic. Why it matters: Cannabis production in Canada has grown quickly since legalization a year ago last October. […] Read more
“They are already committing an offence by coming over the fence.”
News

The fine line between protest and provocation

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The Ontario Provincial Police says it has farmers’ backs when it comes to trespassing, but the right to peaceful protest also has its place. “You have the right to peaceful protest. That’s part of our key message: We live in a country with freedom of expression,” says Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, of the OPP. However, once […] Read more
News

Currie appointed to climate change committee

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The agriculture sector will have a voice on the premier’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change. Ontario Federation of Agriculture President Keith Currie was recently appointed to the new committee. “I’m pretty excited to have agriculture around the table,” said Currie in an interview. “I think agriculture is climate change’s best-kept secret.” Carbon sequestration by agriculture […] Read more
Livestock and poultry farmers have become increasingly concerned about the aggressiveness of animal livestock protesters and their willingness to come right onto farms.
News

Ontario introduces farm trespass act

The legislation aims to protect farmers from trespassers and damage they might cause

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Updated Dec. 2 The Ontario government introduced a bill Dec. 2 aimed at discouraging people who would interfere with livestock production and transportation. The legislation, Security From Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2019, will increase fines for trespassers, protect farmers from civil liability from people injured while trespassing, and limit the interaction protesters are […] Read more
Fence disputes have been managed by provincial guidelines, but that responsibility could soon fall to municipalities.
News

Fence disputes to fall to municipalities to resolve

The Line Fences Act has provided a province-wide system for fence dispute resolution

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The provincial government is eliminating the Line Fences Act, which has kept the peace relating to property border fences in rural Ontario for generations. The act will be eliminated in two years if Bill 132, a large piece of legislation designed to reduce government regulation across 15 ministries – called an omnibus bill – passes. […] Read more
Keith Currie has been re-elected as president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
News

Currie wins fourth term as Ontario Federation of Agriculture president

Peggy Brekveld and Mark Reusser were re-elected as vice-presidents for the next year

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Keith Currie is back as president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). Currie won a fourth one-year term as president at the OFA annual meeting Nov. 18, 2019 in Hamilton. The Simcoe County farmer won a close election over Peggy Brekveld, who has been an OFA vice president for the past five years. She […] Read more
News

Editorial: Farm group management changing quickly

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It’s a time of generational change in Ontario’s major farm organizations, with significant retirements of long-time stabilizing influences and the hiring of new leaders of a different generation. Neil Currie, for 19 years general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), and Dave Stewart, executive director of Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO), where he’d […] Read more

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