HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-06-07, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2012.Black looks backon time with OFA
Ontario’s changing
role in farming is
shown in census
Showing off their sleep wear
Blyth Public School held its pajama day on May 31 allowing students and staff to wear their
sleep wear to school. Shown participating are, back row, from left: Carson Richmond, Jessica
McNichol and Kyle Gottschalk. Front row, from left are Logan Chalmers, Samantha Hubbard,
Marielle VanSchaik and Amber Siertsema. (Denny Scott photo)
By Mark Wales, President,
Ontario Federation of
Agriculture (OFA)
While many Ontario farmers were
taking advantage of prime planting
season in May, Statistics Canada
released the first round of data from
the 2011 Census of Agriculture. The
census provides key data about
Canadian agriculture, and puts some
interesting context around the
changing face of Ontario’s sector
and its place at the national level.
The census revealed that Ontario’s
total farmed area continues to drop.
Farmers here now comprise less
than eight per cent of the total
farmed area in Canada. But even
with such a small fraction of the
country’s land in production, we
comprise nearly 25 per cent of the
forecasted total farm market receipts
for crop and livestock sales for
2012, at nearly $11.4 billion.
That statistic speaks to the highly
productive nature of Ontario
farmers, our diversification and
innovation. We continue to manage
more production with fewer
resources, and that is a something to
be proud of.
But the reduction in overall
farmed land is troubling. Ontario’s
total farmed area decreased 4.8 per
cent between 2006 and 2011 to 12.7
million acres. The Ontario
Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has
been working to address this loss at
the national level, through the
development of the National Food
Strategy. The National Food
Strategy is a vision for the future of
food in Canada, and it was
developed by partners in the
agriculture and agri-food sector
through our counterparts at the
Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
Among the priorities identified in
the strategy, is the importance of
conserving and improving soil,
water and arable land for future
generations. Farmland taken out of
production – for development,
aggregates extraction or other
reasons – will not be returned to
agriculture. That is a significant loss
to our province and our country.
Ontario agriculture is changing in
other ways too. For the first time,
this most recent census reveals how
long-term changes to Ontario’s
livestock sectors fundamentally
affect our agricultural landscape.
With declining numbers of pigs and
beef cattle, the area dedicated to
growing crops traditionally used for
feed such as hay is decreasing in
favour of more profitable cash
crops.
But Ontario farmers’ productivity
and the move toward other sources
of farm income have also inspired a
trend we hope will continue: fewer
Ontario farmers have off-farm jobs.
Less than 48 per cent of farm
operators reported having an off-
farm job or business compared to
nearly 50 per cent in 2005. The OFA
is optimistic that the trend will
continue, returning farming to its
rightful status as a viable
“profession” in Ontario.
Ontario Federation of Agriculture(OFA) board member and Auburn-area farmer Wayne Black is moving
from the public to the private sector
with a new job opportunity.
Black will be resigning from the
OFA effective June 20 after a year
and a half on the board as he recently
became a sales manager for
Conestogo Agri Systems.
During his time with the OFA,
Black feels that he learned a lot and
that, between the OFA and his work
with the Huron County Federation of
Agriculture (HCFA) he’s become
more aware of how farm
organizations are run and what
members need to do for farmers.
“I achieved a lot of what I set out
to do when I joined the OFA,” he
said. “I introduced a lot of farmers to
the OFA through social media and
mobile communication and that has
the next generation of farmers
asking questions and getting
involved.”
He said that, through his use and
endorsement of media like Twitter,
he was trying to provide new ways
for the OFA membership to not only
contact its representatives but
voice their concerns in a public
forum.
“It gave me an opportunity to talk
with farmers across the province
quickly and easily without driving to
them,” he said. “Through social
media we got not only the OFA but
individual farmers involved with
politicians because so manypoliticians and their staff use socialmedia.”Black said that many of thosepoliticians and staff were pulled intoconversations through people letting
them know what was going on
through social media.
While Black, his wife Jennifer and
his three children will be staying at
their Auburn-area home, the job does
have him travelling outside of Huron
County quite a bit as the home office
is in Alma.
Black will remain with the HCFA
as past president until a new
president is elected. He said that
through the role he learned about
why things may seem slow to those
at the grass roots of the agriculture
business.
“I learned about how things are
done and why farmers might believe
the government acts so slowly
developing policies,” he said. “I
know that, to farmers on the side
roads of rural Ontario, it can feel like
it takes forever to have something
changed, but I’ve learned that these
things take time.”
Black said that was the most
important lesson he learned during
his time with the OFA and his
continuing experience with the
HCFA.
“The way we see it isn’t as simple
as it actually is,” he said. “You can’t
just put something in writing, it
needs to be tested to be sure people
don’t take advantage of it.
Sometimes you have to be careful
what you wish for.”
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