Mentions of agriculture in Ontario’s new budget

Feb 26, 2016

Some funding is coming for agricultural sector

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Attention in Ontario was focused on Queen’s Park as Minister of Finance Charles Sousa tabled the government’s new budget Thursday afternoon.

Farms.com combed through the budget and picked out a few times farmers and agriculture were mentioned.

Going Global Export Strategy
The government strategy helps Ontario businesses get access to more export markets. This component of the budget mentioned that in 2015 and early 2016, Premier Kathleen Wynne led trade missions to China and India respectively.

During the missions, the delegates highlighted Ontario’s reputation for different sectors including agriculture. Later in 2016 the government will travel back to India to strengthen ties in agriculture and food processing.

Ontario Minister of Finance Charles Sousa

Industrial Biotechnology
The Ontario government is investing $3 million over four years in Bioindustrial Innovation Canada. The funding will be used to improve the province’s biotechnology sector, which could help with agricultural technology and practices.

Supporting Agriculture, Regional Communities and Partnerships
“The Province remains committed to supporting Ontario’s agricultural sector and fostering its growth through its continued support for Business Risk Management programs,” the budget reads. “Ontario’s Risk Management Program helps producers manage risks beyond their control, such as fluctuating costs and market prices.”

Value-Added Farm Activities
“The Province will be working with the farming community and the municipal sector to provide sustainable property tax treatment to farmers who engage in small-scale, value-added activities as part of their farming business, while maintaining a level playing field for large processors,” the budget states.

Other budget highlights include a 4.3 cents per litre increase in gasoline prices, an increase of approximately $5 per monthly heating bill and free tuition for students who come from families with an annual household income of less than $50,000.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.