16 An update on Grain Farmers of Ontario news and events ASA CORTEVA YOUNG LEADER PROGRAM – APPLICANTS WANTED Grain Farmers of Ontario seeks a soybean farming couple or individual to represent Ontario in the 2023 Class of the American Soybean Association Corteva Young Leader Program. The Young Leaders program enhances participants’ skills through leadership, communications, and issuesbased training and builds a strong peer network, generating increased success in their businesses and communities. Phase one of the program will be held at the Corteva Global Business Center in Johnson, Iowa, from November 29 to December 2, 2022. Phase two takes place in conjunction with the Commodity Classic on March 7 - 11, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. Young Leaders are not necessarily young in age but are new in their leadership development. The ideal candidate is looking to become more involved in Grain Farmers of Ontario. For more information on the program, read about 2022 Class participant Kevin Vander Spek at www.ontariograinfarmer.ca. Applications can be submitted to the American Soybean Association directly at https://soygrowers.com/ or by contacting Rachel Telford, manager, Member Relations for Grain Farmers of Ontario, at rtelford@gfo.ca. WOMEN’S GRAIN SYMPOSIUM Save the date! Grain Farmers of Ontario will be holding an in-person Women’s Grain Symposium November 28 – 29 in Guelph. The two-day event will be an opportunity for female farmer-members to make connections with each other and participate in professional development. All female farmer-members are invited to attend. Please check www.gfo.ca for more details as they become available. OMAFRA WELCOMES NEW STAFF Grain Farmers of Ontario welcomes Colin Elgie, who has joined the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs field crops team as a field crop soil fertility specialist. He will work out of the Ridgetown office. Elgie has a B.Sc. (Agr.) from the University of Guelph and more than 10 years of experience working as an agronomist with Sylvite Agri- Services. He has demonstrated industry leadership by training industry agronomists on 4R nutrient management, soil fertility, and soil test translation. He has been a Certified Crop Advisor since 2012, achieved his 4R nutrient management specialty in 2016, and volunteers with local agriculture associations like the Soil and Crop Improvement Association and Alternative Land Use Services. FIELD OBSERVATIONS The Grain Farmers of Ontario agronomy team, Marty Vermey and Laura Ferrier, publish a weekly field observations report on the Ontario Grain Farmer website and in the weekly CropTalk e-newsletter. Find out more on www.ontariograinfarmer.ca. SIGN UP TODAY FOR GRAINTALK E-NEWS Get the latest farm news and important Grain Farmers of Ontario updates delivered to your inbox each week! GrainTALK is Grain Farmers of Ontario’s weekly e-newsletter that highlights the organization’s latest activities, breakthroughs in research and timely production information. Sign up today and get your weekly dose of Grain Farmers of Ontario in a concise email. Go online to www.gfo.ca and click on the button to subscribe. • FROM THE CHAIR A Q&A with Brendan Byrne, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario. Is Grain Farmers of Ontario shifting any priorities now that the provincial election is over? Our priorities are very consistent. We absolutely need our provincial government’s support as we continue to push for the removal of tariffs on fertilizer. Canada is the only country with these tariffs, and removal is critical as it places us at a global disadvantage against all those countries with access to product that costs up to 40 per cent less. The provincial government has been a strong partner and advocate for us on the Carbon Tax exemption we need from the federal government. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has invested in the Risk Management Programs — we are asking them to continue those investments and build on them to ensure the risks we take as grain farmers have more adequate support in times of crisis. We also continue to push the government to invest in new opportunities for domestic processing that will provide new ways of using Ontario grain and to invest in agricultural research that will benefit farming innovation and make Ontario a leader in that innovation. • Do you have a question for our chair? Email GrainTALK@gfo.ca.
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