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Grain Farmers of Ontario is the province’s largest commodity organization,
representing Ontario’s 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean and wheat farmers.
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Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine

Federal Priorities

Priorities for the 45th Federal Government

Ontario grain farmers are facing extreme uncertainty in the global marketplace.  The federal government needs to get the following policy priorities right, so farmers can get back to doing what they do best – produce food for Canadians and people around the world.

Some quick facts about grain farming and the grain industry in Ontario.

Grain Farmers of Ontario represents the province’s 28,000 farmers who grow barley, corn, oats, soybeans and wheat. Ontario’s grain farmers provide versatile products that generate:

  • Food, renewable fuel, and fibres used around the world
  • Over $27 billion in total economic output
  • Employment for more than 91,000 people across Ontario
  • Strength to local economies through business investment in rural communities
  • Annual Tax revenue for government of:
    • Federal – $1.07 billion
    • Provincial – $857 million
    • Municipal – $391 million

 
Grain Farmers of Ontario – Policy priorities for the federal government

  1. Maintain the free trade between the U.S. and Canada that grains and oilseed farmers rely upon
    • Ensure that the following critical products imported into Canada for planting grains and oilseeds crops remain tariff free
      • Fertilizer including nitrogen, phosphate, KMag
      • Equipment for planting, growing, harvesting and moving a crop
      • Barley, corn, oat, soybeans, and wheat seed
      • Crop protection products including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides
      • Energy including natural gas, propane, fuel for gasoline, diesel
    • Ensure that the exports of Ontario grain and oilseed commodities and products remain free of tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers
    • Provide Ontario farmers ad hoc funding equivalent to the funding the U.S. Administration provides U.S. farmers
    • Return any tariff money collected from Ontario grain farmers directly back to Ontario grain farmers
    • Direct stimulus funding to protect domestic processing and creating new markets
  2. Protect and grow opportunities in China, the Asia Pacific Central and South America and the EU and UK as trade relationships change
  3. Create tax fairness for grain and oilseed farmers
    • Exempt grain farming from the carbon tax
    • Exempt grain farmers from the Capital Gains Inclusion Rate
    • Maintain the pause on Bare & Blind Trust
    • Reinstate the Capital Cost Allowance and Accelerated Investment Incentive Program
  4. Protect grain farmers from escalating input prices and market volatility by providing 60 per cent funding for the RMP program for price stability during volatile times and stability during tariffs and make programming equivalent to the U.S. business risk management suite
  5. Return Ontario grain farmers to an even playing field with U.S. farmers by removing the fertilizer tariffs and sanctions on Russian fertilizer imports
  6. Recognize the significance of all renewable fuels particularly corn-based ethanol as both a market for Ontario grain and a low-carbon fuel source, and increase investment to build this market for further future growth
  7. Establish an equitable distribution of research funding to support innovation in the Eastern grain sector and restore funding in plant breeding
  8. Raise Advance Payments Program funding from $250,000 to $350,000 permanently
  9. Return agriculture and agrifood funding to BRM programs where it is most important, including removing and halting efforts to introduce environmental cross compliance
  10. Invest in Ontario’s food and beverage processing and export capacity to support new grain utilization opportunities