Guelph, Ont. – The Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO), representing Ontario’s 19,000 beef farmers, would like to congratulate Premier Ford and the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario on their successful bid to form the next Ontario government, and to all elected and re-elected Members of Provincial Parliament.
BFO would also like to extend a sincere congratulations to Lisa Thompson and Ernie Hardeman, who served Ontario’s agriculture community as ministers of OMAFRA under the previous government, on their re-election in the ridings of Huron-Bruce and Oxford, respectively.
“We look forward to working with our returning and new Members of Provincial Parliament across the province to ensure our farmers have access to programs and resources that will sustain Ontario’s beef capacity and promote new economic output for the province,” shares Jack Chaffe, BFO President. “Beef farmers are currently facing unprecedented levels of uncertainty and risk that cannot be mitigated by good management alone due to significant inflationary cost of inputs, trade and supply chain disruptions, increasing frequency of adverse weather events, and a level of market volatility we have never experienced.”
BFO has asked the new provincial government to commit to the following priorities to help mitigate food
production risks and ensure food security for Ontario and our communities:
- Increase the cap on the Ontario Risk Management Program (RMP) by $100 million annually.
- Increase investment in programs that support meat processing capacity and infrastructure, and the training, recruitment, and retention of meat cutters and industrial butchers.
- Support for mental health services and resources for farmers and agri-food workers. Financial insecurity is one of the leading causes of mental health issues for farmers. No one should be asked to produce food at a loss.
- Preserve farmland through sound provincial land use policy that sees agricultural lands, including marginal lands used for livestock grazing and carbon sequestration, protected as the highest and best use of our province’s arable land.
- Conduct a review with the agriculture sector of farm inspection and enforcement practices employed under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) Act.
The beef industry is an important economic driver of Ontario’s agri-food sector. Combining the revenue from primary production, processing and retail, the beef industry contributes $2.69 billion to Ontario’s GDP on an annual basis.
Source : BFO