SAFETY NET POLICY COMMITTEE NOTES
OCPA
SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING
Ontario Corn Producers’ Association
September 9, 2008
Provincial Update
OCPA works through Ontario Grains & Oilseeds (G&O) to address safety
nets at the provincial level. Ontario G&O continues to lobby for a long-term
Risk Management Program (RMP), but our primary focus must be on securing the
federal government’s commitment for its share of 60 percent.
Risk Management Program
OCPA was notified in early September by Agricorp that 2008 RMP premium invoices
were being printed and mailed to producers. The due date for payment is September
19, 2008.
Also of note, OCPA has been receiving phone calls in the past few months regarding
the cost of production calculation that is part of RMP. OCPA is well aware of
the significant increases that have occurred with inputs such as fertilizer.
There is a RMP advisory committee that was formed as part of the initial launch
of the program, of which OCPA Safety Net Chair Jeff Davis participates. This
issue of increasing costs is within the mandate of this committee and they are
currently addressing the issue.
Federal Update
The Federal government’s agriculture policy is called “Growing Forward”
and contains four main components – AgriInsurance, AgriStability, AgriRecovery
and AgriInvest. OQGFC has proposed a fifth component, called “AgriFlex.”
AgriFlex would be a federal funding envelope that allows the federal government
to keep its “one size fits all” approach to Canadian agricultural
funding while offering the flexibility to recognize the unique regional and
sectoral needs across the country.
Ontario Grains & Oilseeds is a member of the Ontario-Quebec Grain Farmers’
Coalition (OQGFC). Federally, OQGFC’s mandate is to secure “companion
programming with regional flexibility.” This type of funding would allow
vital federal funding for Quebec’s ASRA program (a farm income stabilization
program), and would be the avenue by which the federal government could fund
a number of companion programs for various sectors in Ontario, including RMP
for grains and oilseeds. In other provinces AgriFlex funding would contribute
to different “companion” programs administered by each province.
OQGFC has already completed a number of meetings with key members of parliament.
Efforts will intensify leading up to the October 14, 2008 federal election.
The lobby team has completed a number of government relations efforts, and launched
a website, www.fairnessforfarmers.ca.
OQGFC is a member of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), and is working
closely with that organization on a national lobby effort for AgriFlex.
Farmers Feed Cities!
Ontario Grains & Oilseeds is also the originator and owner of the Farmers
Feed Cities! Campaign (FFC) which has been busy with a number of initiatives
over the past few months and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.
These projects have and will aim to expand the campaign’s reach and raise
its profile among the non-farm public in order to bridge the gap between consumers
and producers. Some of the major initiatives are listed below:
| * | The Harvest Balloon tour is taking place from August 16 to October 13 attending numerous events across the province in both rural and urban areas. |
| * | The Harvest of Hope campaign is aiming to garner donations from farmers to be distributed to Ontario’s food banks in their time of need as a public goodwill investment for grain & oilseed producers. |
| * | FFC is set to be launched in Manitoba in partnership with the Manitoba Farm Animal Council through events geared towards farmers and the public along with a website portal for supporters. |
| * | Displays at the Good Food Festival, CNE, Outdoor Farm Show, International Plowing Match and Royal Winter Fair will aim to showcase the campaign to both farmers and non-farmers alike. |
| * | The campaign will be featured in the 2009 Faces of Farming Calendar presented by the Ontario Farm Animal Council, featuring Holly Kelly, step-daughter of Dale Mountjoy, as our representative. |
| * | FFC has been granted funding from the Agricultural Adaptation Council’s CanAdvance program for a full-time campaign coordinator position to be filled by Scott Allison. |
Requests for
display and promotional materials or general campaign inquiries can be directed
to Scott at 519-767-4132 or scott@farmersfeedcities.com.
Agricorp
The Production Insurance (PI) program, formally called Crop Insurance, is a
program that works relatively well for Ontario corn producers. What you may
not realize is that this program is continually scrutinized through regular
meetings between OCPA and Agricorp in an attempt to continually strengthen the
program and allow it to address emerging issues.
Audit
At OCPA’s 2007 Annual General Meeting, there was a resolution passed recommending
an audit of Agricorp. OCPA was one of a number of groups in the farm community
which made similar requests and as a result, Minister Dombrowsky issued a formal
request of the Auditor General of Ontario to conduct a value-for-money audit
of Agricorp. Consequently, this request was granted and a comprehensive review
occurred. The final report was submitted to the Minister on July 15, 2008. This
report has been made public, and can be viewed on the internet at www.auditor.on.ca/en/reports_en/AgriCorp_en.pdf.
OCPA is in the process of reviewing this report and plans to respond to Minister
Dombrowsky’s request for comments by September 22, 2008. It is OCPA’s
impression the Minister plans to establish an improvement plan for Agricorp
based on agricultural community feedback, as well as the recommendations from
the Auditor General’s report.