Ontario Grain Farmer December 2021/January 2022

away and can now help the organization understand the value of adding cereal rye to its represented crops,” says John Fitzgerald, policy advisor at FPMC. SCOPE One of the key pieces of information that Grain Farmers of Ontario continues to look at is the scope of the crop in Ontario. The organization is asking farmers to self-identify if they grow and harvest cereal rye. “We cannot really know the number of farmers growing cereal rye, or the number of acres harvested until we hear from our farmer-members. The resolution had good support from the membership and the delegates, but we need the data to make a truly informed decision,” says Brendan Byrne, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario’s Board of Directors. Amy Cronin, chair of the Ontario FPMC, echoed Byrne that hearing from cereal rye farmers is key, noting that grain farmers took the initiative to send feedback, letters, and requests to Grain Farmers of Ontario, and she hopes that they will continue to provide information to the organization. “As we look at this regulatory change for the organization and work to understand the impact of this change to the organization and all cereal rye farmers, to offer the best guidance we can, hearing from cereal rye farmers is imperative,” says Cronin. Grain Farmers of Ontario is also looking at the value-added opportunities for cereal rye and how the grain is currently used. This information will feed into the decision as well. “What is the demand for cereal rye and is it growing? One of the important pieces in the decision to bring in a new crop will be the future opportunity for farmers. How will distillers use Ontario rye and will that market grow with the consumer demand for products that can show they are local, including the raw ingredients? I think there is a lot of interest in cereal grains in expanding markets — how can rye be part of that to benefit our farmer-members?” says Devitt. He added that Grain Farmers of Ontario and FPMC will also look at how check off on cereal rye could help move the crop forward, leveraging agronomic research, market development, public communications, and advocacy for programs and policies. The next steps will continue to be exploratory for now. To help farmer-members identify they grow cereal rye, Grain Farmers of Ontario has set up a survey for that asks if they grow cereal rye, how many acres, and how much of their acreage is harvested. Please visit https://gfo.ca/rye-survey/ to identify if you are growing cereal rye and the volume of production. Victoria Berry is the manager of Communications for Grain Farmers of Ontario. l ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 25 DECEMBER 2021/JANUARY 2022 This article features a Grain Farmers of Ontario Member Relations issue. HICHAM FRAM, M. Sc., agr. Expert Advisor since 2013 MARC-ANDRÉ CHAPUT Ferme Lemage inc.