GFO Newsletter for September 2016
GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO
BREEDING AND GENETICS RESEARCH INSERT
Grain Farmers of Ontario provides funding for research projects that address the present and future needs of our farmer-members under our core priority areas of Agronomy and Production, Insects and Diseases, Crop Utilization and Quality, and Breeding and Genetics. Included with this issue of the magazine is a research insert highlighting some of the projects currently being funded by Grain Farmers of Ontario in the priority area of Breeding and Genetics. An electronic version of this insert is also available online at www.gfo.ca/research. •
2016 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
All farmer-members are invited to attend Grain Farmers of Ontario’s 2016 Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, September 13 at the Quality Hotel & Suites in Woodstock. The business portion of the meeting will be held in the morning and all attendees will be given passes to attend Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in the afternoon.
Location:
Quality Hotel & Suites
Vansittart Room
580 Bruin Blvd, Woodstock, ON N4V 1E5
Agenda:
8 a.m. Registration and breakfast
9 a.m. Chairman’s report, CEO?report, Resolutions, Questions
Noon Lunch
1 p.m. Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show
Accommodations:
A limited block of hotel rooms has been arranged in Woodstock and in Cambridge. Please call 1-800-265-0550 and speak to Maegan MacKimmie or go to www.gfo.ca for details and availability.
If you are unable to make it to Grain Farmers of Ontario’s Annual General Meeting, the Annual Report is available online at www.gfo.ca or by calling the office at 1-800-265-0550 and requesting a copy be mailed to you. The financial statements will be included within the GFO Newsletter of the October magazine. •
CANADA’S OUTDOOR FARM SHOW
Grain Farmers of Ontario will be at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show from September 13 – 15. You can find us on 1st Lane (Seed Alley). Stop in for a coffee and a chat with a staff member or director.
Tony Balkwill, Grain Farmers of Ontario’s sponsored Nuffield scholar, will be at our tent on September 13 from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. to talk with farmers about his precision agriculture research and participation in the Nuffield program. •
INTERNATIONAL PLOWING MATCH
Grain Farmers of Ontario is a bronze sponsor of the 2016 International Plowing Match in Minto being held September 20 – 24. We will also once again be sponsoring the VIP tent and plowing match. The Growing Connections trailer exhibit will be on display to showcase the Good in Every Grain.
NEW this year, Grain Farmers of Ontario is collaborating with Premier Equipment and the International Plowing Match to host a Tech Park.
The Tech Park will showcase the newest technology in combines and planting equipment, providing visitors the opportunity to learn about precision agriculture, yield and soil maps, the process of primary and secondary tillage, planting, spraying, harvesting, and soil sampling. Videos of planting and harvest will also be on display. For the younger visitors, a field table will be set up with various toy scale equipment. •
FIELDS TO FORKS
Grain Farmers of Ontario is pleased to be part of Bell Media’s Fields to Forks program that works to raise awareness about agriculture in Ontario. Partners in the program will help expose urban audiences to what it means to work in agriculture, and how farmers positively impact business and the environment. This project provides an inside look at Ontario’s grain farmers and their families.
Grain Farmers of Ontario content will be shared on CTV London news and commercials, and Today’s Country BX93 radio and online. The Fields to Forks microsite hosts information on sponsor’s stories, food literacy, and recipes. To learn more about the program visit www.london.ctvnews.ca/fieldstoforks. •
FEEDBACK ON NEONIC REGULATIONS STILL NEEDED
Grain Farmers of Ontario is continuing to collect comments on how the government’s neonicotinoid regulations are affecting farmer-members. To ensure the government truly understands how decisions like this impact our businesses, and with the goal of improving how agricultural policy is formed in the future, Grain Farmers of Ontario has commissioned an audit through BDO.
BDO is one of the leading accounting and advisory firms in Canada. Over the next three years, BDO will investigate the socio-economic consequences of these regulations, including the cost to farmers operating under this new regime and the cost to grain farmers in Ontario.
A variety of research methods will go into BDO’s study — including an annual survey of every Grain Farmers of Ontario farmer-member (the first of which will be distributed this fall). Your participation in these surveys is key to gathering results that tell the story of how these regulations are impacting your business.
BDO will be analyzing the following information:
• number of farm businesses impacted by the regulation
• any additional costs associated with adhering to the regulation
• costs associated with using new products and the effectiveness of these products
• the impact on plant stand growth and yield from changes made on farm as a result of the new regulations.
Farmer-members are also encouraged to continue sending us details about how this regulation is impacting your farm business throughout the growing season. Please send updates to Maegan Mackimmie mmackimmie@gfo.ca or post photos of your crop progress with or without neonicotinoid treated seed on Twitter using #grainbugs.
PROMOTING GRAIN WITH THE HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
Grain Farmers of Ontario is continuing its partnership with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during the 2016 CFL season. Good in Every Grain is featured on signage at Tim Hortons Field and a Tailgater of the Game will be awarded a Good in Every Grain prize pack at every home game. Football fans can also use the Grain Farmers of Ontario selfie booth to snap a Tiger-Cats picture to post on social media. •
MARKET COMMENTARY
by Philip Shaw
The August 12 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report substantiated the general bearishness in our grain complex. The USDA pegged their corn production to come in at a record 15.15 billion bushels on an average yield of 175.1 bushels per acre. At the same time, the USDA projected their national soybean production to be 4.06 billion bushels on a projected yield of 48.9 bushels per acre. The corn projection was particularly high, much higher than the average trade estimate. After an initial drop in prices, grain prices bounded back showing some resilience.
In Ontario, crops have sizzled this summer and as of August 12 the provincial average corn yield has surely been compromised. This will likely mean wide variation in Ontario corn basis regionally into the fall. •
