Ontario Grain Farmer November 2021

18 An update on Grain Farmers of Ontario news and events FARMER-MEMBER SURVEY Grain Farmers of Ontario is conducting a farmer-member survey. Your confidential feedback will help our planning and make our organization more responsive to your needs. All farmer-members were mailed a copy of the survey with their September issue of the Ontario Grain Farmer and provided with a postage paid return envelope. Please complete the survey as soon as possible and return. You can also complete the survey online at www.gfo.ca/survey. All farmer- members who complete the survey will be entered to win a Yeti cooler prize pack. Farmer- members who complete their survey online will be entered to win one of two $100 gift cards per month(September – January). PROVINCIAL PREMISES REGISTRY Premises identification is the first step in establishing a traceability system that can lead to business advantages, including improved operational efficiencies and increased market access. With the Provincial Premises Registry (PPR), the government can notify you about incidents that may impact you and your operation quickly, minimizing the effect on your operation. The PPR is a record of individual parcels of land associated with agri-food activities. Agricorp operates the registry on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). The integrity of the PPR depends on accurate and current premises information. Registrants are encouraged to confirm or update their premises information annually. Confirming your premises information at least every two years also keeps your premises ID active and eligible for government programs, such as Ontario’s Risk Management Program. To update your information or register a new premises, visit www.ontariopid.com . UPCOMING EVENTS Grain Farmers of Ontario is proud to be a supporter and participant in several upcoming agriculture industry events: Farm and Food Care Gala November 13 GrowCanada November 30 – December 2 Ontario Agricultural Conference January 5 -6, 2022 WOMEN’S GRAIN SYMPOSIUM Grain Farmers of Ontario will be hosting a virtual Women‘s Grain Symposium on November 15, 17, and 19. This year‘s event will be held during morning sessions over the three days. You may individually register for any or all of the sessions. Register and attend all three sessions and your name will be entered in a draw towinaYETIprizepackvaluedat$500.Register at https://gfo1.typeform.com/to/raZgo46t TAR SPOT Tar spot is spreading across southwestern Ontario and farmers need to be vigilant about identifying the disease in their fields. Positive identification this fall will allow you to make informed management decisions in 2022. To learn more about tar spot, read Crop Side on page 22, listen to the GrainTALK podcast Episode 85, and read our Agronomy Alert at www.gfo.ca/agronomy/. MARKET COMMENTARY by Philip Shaw On September 30, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their September 1 grain stocks report, which always puts a cap on the old crop year. The USDA raised U.S. corn stocks to 1.24 billion bushels and raised substantially U.S. soybean stocks to 256 million bushels. These numbers were bearish for corn and soybeans. Earlier on September 10, the USDA had pegged U.S. domestic corn yield to come in at 176.3 bushels per acres and soybeans at 50.6 bushels per acre with total production of 14.99 billion and 4.374 billion bushels respectively. In Ontario, big corn and soybean crops are currently being harvested. The Canadian dollar noon rate on September 30 was 0.7849, which continues to add stimulus to Ontario cash grain prices. FROM THE CHAIR A Q&A with Brendan Byrne, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario. How does Grain Farmers of Ontario actively work to protect the tools and inputs that grain farmers rely on? In Canada, we have been lucky so far that many of the decisions on inputs and tools are science- based and we can support them; however, we have to be diligent about reminding governments at every level that understanding the science and impact of decisions on these products is vital. Whenever issues that impact our farmer-members are discussed, we work to ensure that we are at the table communicating our position, and that farmers voices are heard and understood by policy-makers. Over the last few years, we have worked closely with the Ontario government to reduce duplication in these regulations, and we work with national ag partners (and on our own) to connect to the federal government so that they have the full picture of how these tools are used to help food security, economic sustainability, and meeting environmental goals. It is a case of constant vigilance and conversation for our research, market development, government relations, and communications teams. • Do you have a question for our chair? Email GrainTALK@gfo.ca .