The Ontario government announced Oct. 3 its investing $7.25 million in 50 Ontario-led agri-food research and innovation projects. The investments are being made through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, a collaboration between the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and the University of Guelph that works to advance the next generation of […] Read more
Tag Archives Ontario government — page 2
Province funding Ontario-led agri-food projects
Fixing Ontario’s rural healthcare crisis
Funding and better infrastructure planning are needed
Closed emergency facilities, hard-to-find family doctors, an absence of medical support services – each is a reality through much of rural Ontario, and inadequate funding makes solutions just as scarce. Some say greater investment in the health care sector is ideal. However, supportive policies targeted to rural communities, as well as more long-term thinking toward […] Read more
Re-thinking the value of farm plates for pickup trucks
Changes to the Ontario vehicle fee system cause of confusion for farm businesses
Your pickup is licensed to farm, but are the benefits worth the price to plate? “We recommend that our members – and all farmers – really look at what they use their truck for,” said Ian Nokes, Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) transportation policy analyst. If the trucks are more for personal use than farm […] Read more
Soybeans the key to Ontario’s plant protein future
Access to funding is a barrier to new processing investment
The burgeoning global market for plant proteins presents a huge opportunity for Ontario soybeans, but new investments in research and local processing will be key to capturing that potential, industry officials say. “We really want to drive towards more branded food products in Canada from the ingredients we produce here… As we get into this, […] Read more
Agriculture gets numerous Ontario budget mentions
Foreign worker community settlement gets funding
Agriculture was one of the few sectors outside of health mentioned in Ontario’s 2020 budget. Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said the budget predominantly focused on health care as part of its COVID-19 response but also recognized the importance of agriculture. Why it matters: When policy-makers specifically cite agriculture in the […] Read more
Province ups investment in broadband and cellular service
An additional $680 million will be put into rural/northern digital infrastructure
The province is investing $1 billion to remove “Can you hear me now?” from the lexicon of rural and Northern Ontario residents. As part of the Ontario government’s 2020 budget released Nov. 5, an additional $680 million over six yeas was added to the existing $315 million in Up to Speed: Ontario’s Broadband and Cellular […] Read more
Province helps fairs with funding
The Ontario government is expanding eligibility for agriculture societies to apply for funding to help offset the financial losses due to the cancellation of fall fairs, exhibitions and activities during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. About $1 million will be made available to all qualifying agricultural and horticultural societies to help ensure operations. In previous years, […] Read more
Line Fences Act to move to OMAFRA
When the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing announced that it would be scrapping the Line Fences Act in November, it had some in rural Ontario scratching their heads. The Act, which has little application in towns and cities, had helped keep the peace by providing a method of solving fencing disputes between rural properties […] Read more
OPVG calls new marketing regulations a ‘sham’
The organization says the changes will put give more power to processors
The Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG) calls new marketing regulations proposed for tomato and carrot growers a “sham process” that will put the balance of power in the hands of processors. The organization released a statement Dec. 18, the first comments made since Ernie Hardeman, Ontario’s minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs announced the […] Read more
Direct negotiations coming to processing tomatoes and carrots
Growers can also vote to negotiate as a group by secret ballot with individual processors
Ontario is opening up the processing tomato and carrot market to direct negotiations with processors, but is also leaving open the possibility of collective negotiation with individual processors. Ernie Hardeman, Ontario’s minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs released a letter Dec. 11 informing growers of the decision. Why it matters: The decision will reduce […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
