The Rural Voice, 2006-04, Page 66BRUCE
Email: bruce@ofa.on.ca
website: www.ofa.on.ca/bruce
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
CountyFederation o Agriculture TheR��aiuceCo Voice ntybythed roCFA
� CJ Members in Bruce County by the BCFA
$125 million Provincial financial assistance to farmers
On March 6, the Ontario
Government announced it will deliver
$125 million in financial assistance to
farmers. Farmers will receive
assistance under the Ontario Grain
and Oilseed Program and the Ontario
Edible Horticulture Crop payment in
mid-April. The programs will be
delivered by Agricorp on behalf of
the provincial government.
OMAFRA's financial assistance
will provide
• $80 million for grain and oilseed
producers, which will include farm
fed, to offset their losses on the 2005
crop.
• $35 million for producers of all
edible horticultural crops to offset
past losses.
• $10 million for an Ontario livestock
and poultry traceability system to
assist the province's agri-food
industry to strengthen emergency
management and capitalize on market
opportunities.
Eligibility:
Producers who planted and
harvested eligible grain and oilseed
crops in 2005 are eligible.
Application Deadlines:
Producers enrolled in the Market
Revenue Insurance Program for the
2004 crop year and who:
• Reported 2005 eligible crop acreage
to Agricorp, including Production
Insurance, will automatically receive
this benefit.
• Have not reported 2005 eligible
crop acreage to Agricorp, must
contact Agricorp at 1-888-247-4999
Capping farm support payments from the
government would spread funds further
To ensure that the family farms
and beginning farmers survive,
government farm support programs
must be capped.
In Canada there were 218,000
farms with revenue more than
$10,000 in 2002. Of these farms 83
per cent had revenue of less than
$250,000 and produced 29 per cent of
the faun products. Ninety-three per
cent had.revenue less than $500,000
and produced 47 per cent of the farm
products.
The large and very large farms
that make up seven per cent produced
more than $500,000 revenue- and 53
per cent of the farm products. This
group has grown from three per cent
in 1992 to seven per cent in 2002.
During that 10 years their production
has grown from 25 per cent to 53 per
cent of Canada's farm products.
If government programs were
capped at $250,000 the cost would be
approximately 46 per cent of no caps.
If the caps were $500,000 the cost.
would be 54 per cent of no caps.
It is no wonder that the family and
beginning farmers cannot compete
for land purchase or rent when the
62 THE RURAL VOICE
large and very large farms, seven per
cent, receive 53 per cent of the
government's support.
These facts were acquired from
the Federal Government, Farm
Income Issues, Data Source Book,
February 2005.0
— Submitted Ernie Young,
BCFA Executive and
Bruce Township Director
to provide acreage and yield
information by May 1, 2006.
Producers not enrolled, including
new farmers in 2005, must complete
an application form.
The application form must be
submitted to Agricorp by May 1. For
applications call Agricorp at 1-888-
427-4999 or visit their website at
www.agricorp.com to download the
application form.'
There is a $500,000 cap on
payments under the Ontario Grain
and Oilseed Program which applies
to both individuals and corporations.
For further information please
contact: Agricorp, Monday to Friday,
7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Phone 1-888-
247-4999. Fax 519-826-4118 or
www.agricorp.com
BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
DIRECTORS'
MEETING
Monday, April 24, 2006
8:00 p.m.
Bruce County
Administrative Building,
30 Park Street, Walkerton
Members are welcome to attend
ENVIRONMENTAL FARM PLAN (EFP)
WORKSHOPS
March 22 and 29 — Port Elgin
March 24 and 31 — Port Elgin - FULL
April 3 and 10 — TBA
April 5 and 12 — Lions Head
June 20 and 27 — TBA
All workshops are from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and free of charge.
Contact Jayne Dietrich 519-367-5930 to register
E-mail bruce@ontariosoilcrop.org Website: www.ontanosoilcrop.org