Ontario Farmers “Significantly” Impacted by Hydro Increases

Oct 15, 2012

Ontario PC Survey Indicates 60.7% of Farmers Reported Hydro Cost Hurting Business

The Ontario PC Party Critic for Agriculture, Ernie Hardeman MPP for Oxford announced today the results of a survey conducted to gain feedback from farmers to indicate some of the biggest challenges facing their farm businesses and 67.7% of Ontario farmers indicated that the increasing costs of hydro posed a “significant” impact on their farming operation.

“97% of farmers said they have been impacted by increased hydro costs and 60.7% of those said the impact has been significant,” said Hardeman “Farmers are working hard to make ends meet and grow their businesses but they are struggling with the impact of government policies like spiraling hydro rates.”

It has been forecasted that the cost of hydro is going to increase by 47% over the next five years, which has been attributed to green energy subsides for wind and solar projects in addition to the recently discovered costs of relocating two power plants that left taxpayers on the hook for $900 million.

The survey was part of an initiative by the Ontario PC caucus in order to identify some of the key challenges that farmers are facing so that the PC’s could assist with advocating for farmer’s needs. While 60.7% of farmers listed the rising cost of hydro as a significant impact, a total of 97% of farmers said that they have been impacted by hydro costs.

Video: Intrauterine Vaccines in Swine - Dr. Heather Wilson

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Dr. Heather Wilson from VIDO at the University of Saskatchewan explains how intrauterine vaccination is being developed as a new option for swine health. She shares how formulation, adjuvants, and delivery methods influence immune responses and what early trials reveal about safety and reproductive performance. Listen now on all major platforms.

"The idea was that an intrauterine vaccine might avoid a tolerance response and instead create an active immune response."

Meet the guest: Dr. Heather Wilson / heather-wilson-a8043641 is a Senior Scientist and Program Manager at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan. Her work centers on vaccine formulation and delivery in pigs, including the development of intrauterine vaccination to support reproductive health and passive protection of piglets. Her background spans biochemistry, immunology, and functional pathogenomics.