Ontario Grain Farmer April/May 2021

16 An update on Grain Farmers of Ontario news and events YOUR GRAIN FARMERS OF ONTARIO TEAM Here is our next installment of profiles of your Grain Farmers of Ontario team. SABRINA DI ILIO, DIGITAL COORDINATOR Sabrina Di Ilio is the digital coordinator for Grain Farmers of Ontario. In this role she manages all Grain Farmers of Ontario websites, collaborates on social media efforts, and assists with digital campaigns as amember of the Communications team. Di Ilio comes to the role with a marketing diploma fromConestoga College and experience in veterinary and animal health marketing and communications. Prior to this role, she worked at the Animal Health Lab at the University of Guelph doing communications (social media, website maintenance, graphic design, reporting, surveys) around animal health and disease. When not working, Di Ilio enjoys yoga, reading, scrabble, visiting friends, watching tv/movies, and winter sports such as skating, snowshoeing, and snowboarding. MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION CHANGES Farmer-members and industry associates who have changes to their mailing address or wish to cancel their subscription to the Ontario Grain Farmer magazine can contact Phaedra McIntosh, Grain Farmers of Ontario database coordinator, at pmcintosh@gfo.ca or 519-767-4130. WATCH GRAINTALK WEBINARS! Road safety for plant21 Dean Anderson from Workplace Safety and Prevention Services met with the agronomy team to discuss Road Safety for this upcoming planting season. In this webinar, he talks about who gets the lane when driving equipment down the road, what signage you need on the vehicle, and other helpful tips for safety during plant21. Farmer Forum: Corn rootworm Watch the recording of our Farmer Forum on corn rootworm. This event featured: an overview of CRW resistance in Ontario from Tracey Baute, field crop entomologist with OMAFRA; a U.S. perspective on CRW from Erin Hodgson, extension entomologist specialist with Iowa State University; CRW management options from Dr. Jocelyn Smith, research scientist of entomology with the University of Guelph; and feed options from Christine O’Reilly, forage and grazing specialist with OMAFRA. You can find these webinars and more at www.gfo.ca/GrainTALK. COMMODITY LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM The Government of Ontario is making improvements to the Commodity Loan Guarantee Program to extend repayment deadlines, increase lending capacity, and provide farmers with greater flexibility to purchase essential crop growing supplies, such as seed and fertilizer. The Commodity Loan Guarantee Program's loan repayment deadlines are being permanently extended from February 28 to September 30 to better align repayment dates with the growing season. The extended deadlines will reduce paperwork and costs for farmers who would otherwise have to transfer their loans to other financing options until the sale of their crops. The program's FROM THE CHAIR A Q&A with Brendan Byrne, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario. What are some of the key issues you see for the organization? We are a very diverse organization and we are made stronger by that. I see my role as a champion and a voice for our complex membership — whether it be to government, to other groups in agriculture, to the public or media, or to the farmer-members themselves. There are a lot of issues facing us and a lot of work ahead of us and I am ready to dig in and keep our momentum going. I am incredibly proud of the work that Grain Farmers of Ontario has done and I am humbled by the support from the Board in electing me Chair. This is a dedicated, smart, involved and active Board to be part of and I look forward to working with them, Crosby, and the staff to build on our successes. It is vitally important to me that I, as Chair, represent all of our membership and their varied concerns, experiences, and situations. Do you have a question for our chair? Email GrainTALK@gfo.ca . www.ontariograinfarmer.ca Publ ished by CROP MANAGEMENT MARCH 2021 Cover crops AGRONOMY BASICS FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT 2021_OnGrainFarmer 2021-02-03 8:57 AM Page 1