GFO Newsletter for August 2018

GrainTALK

Grain Farmers of Ontario has developed a new way to communicate with our farmer-members — GrainTALK. We want to share the best information and we want that information to be easy to find and easy to recognize.

GrainTALK incorporates an e-newsletter, podcasts, webinar series, videos, and this newsletter section of the magazine. If it says GrainTALK, it has great information for grain farmers. Learn more at www.gfo.ca/GrainTALK. •

CANADA’S OUTDOOR FARM SHOW

Grain Farmers of Ontario will be at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show from September 11 – 13. You can find us on 1st Lane (Seed Alley). Stop in for a coffee and a chat with a staff member or director. •

INTERNATIONAL PLOWING MATCH

Grain Farmers of Ontario is a silver sponsor of the 2018 International Plowing Match in Paincourt (Chatham-Kent) being held September 18 – 22. We will 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 and the Grain Farmers of Ontario Tech Park will be onsite to highlight the technology that farmers are using in their fields. •

2018 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

All farmer-members are invited to attend Grain Farmers of Ontario’s 2018 Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, September 11 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:
Four Points by Sheraton Cambridge. A room block has been reserved under Grain Farmers of Ontario. Call 519 653-2690. •

NEW LICENSE FEES

The Grain Farmers of Ontario Board of Directors has approved the budget and check off fees.
Here are the check-off fees for all grain settlements occurring on July 1, 2018 or after. Fees are calculated on a per tonne basis and continue to represent $1.80 per acre. This is unchanged from a year ago.

Barley **                     $ 1.31 / mt
Corn *                         $ 0.44 / mt
Mixed Oats/Barley ** $ 1.47 / mt
Oats **                       $ 1.47 / mt
Soybeans *                $ 1.54 / mt
Wheat *                     $ 0.89 / mt
* Includes Grain Financial Protection Premium
** Grain Financial Protection is not applicable •

NEW ONTARIO PC GOVERNMENT

Grain Farmers of Ontario offers congratulations to Ontario’s new premier Doug Ford and the members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario as the new provincial government of Ontario. We look forward to working with Ernie Hardeman, new minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, and the other new cabinet ministers in order to have the greatest positive impact on Ontarians, Ontario agriculture, and Ontario food services.

Farmers are the main stewards of Ontario’s land as they work to provide food for Ontario and beyond, and the new PC government’s faith in farmers’ understanding of best practices and the best way to grow food is appreciated.

“This new government marks a time of change for Ontario, and is also one of opportunity,” says Haerle. “We are hopeful that Premier Ford will act swiftly and reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on grain farmers by rescinding the neonic seed regulations, which are responsible for increased costs and duplication of regulations.”

Grain Farmers of Ontario supports the PC commitment to helping farmers manage risks to their business and to protecting food production for all Ontarians by investing more money into programs that are drastically underfunded at present.

“We are very pleased to see Premier Ford’s government supports business risk management programming and we hope to see the $50 million increase to the cap on the RMP in place for planting season,” says Haerle.

The environment for agriculture in Ontario today is extremely challenging with increased costs from regulations, fuel cost increases, and looming trade issues. Grain farmers will look to the new Progressive Conservative government to champion their needs, and the needs of all farmers, at trade negotiations and in discussions with the federal government. •

CONSUMING GRAINS-BASED FOODS

A new research project at the University of Saskatchewan aims to enhance the information available on the Canadian consumption of foods made from both whole and enriched non-whole grains. While whole grain foods have been studied significantly, and the nutritional benefits of including them in one‘s diet are well known, there is less information on the consumption of enriched non-whole grain foods and the nutrition and health benefits of consuming these foods.

Led by Hassan Vatanparast of the University of Saskatchewan‘s College of Pharmacy and Nutrition and School of Public Health, the project utilizes the recently released 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) data to provide better guidance to Canadians and policy makers on the contribution of both whole and enriched non-whole grains to the diet. The project is being funded jointly by the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (Sask Wheat), the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), Grain Farmers of Ontario, and Mitacs, a Canadian not-for-profit funding agency supporting industry-academia collaborations.

The results of Vatanparast‘s project are expected to benefit consumers and policy makers with better health and nutrition information on the consumption of all grains-based foods while also providing benefits to the Canadian farmers who produce the grain. The results of the project will be available from mid-2018 into 2020. •

MARKET COMMENTARY

by Philip Shaw
Grain futures prices declined sharply in June as trade concerns between China and the United States spooked end users. In the June 29 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report, soybean acres came in at 89.6 million and corn acres came in at 89.1 million marking the second time in history that U.S. farmers have grown more soybeans than corn. The quarterly corn stocks as of June 1 came in at 5.31 billion bushels, which is about the same as last year. On the soybean side, stocks as of June 1 were 1.222 billion bushels, which is 26% higher than a year ago.

The Canadian dollar has been fluttering in the 75 to 76 cent range U.S., mitigating to some extent the loss in grain futures. •