ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 21 INDUSTRY NEWS well as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Black maintains that reactions to these and other influences occur with greater immediacy than in the past. “Back in the 1990s, the 80s and even in the 70s, we had markets that reacted to weather or other factors, but they reacted slowly and incrementally,” he adds. “Now, we have markets that are reacting, and you can see a 50-cent swing in a day, and it can be up 50 cents one day and down 50 cents the next, so that’s a dollar swing. The world was still volatile back then, but we didn’t react to world news the way we do now.” DOMESTIC ISSUES As if conditions abroad weren’t combining to challenge growers both older and younger here in Ontario, there’s a delicate balancing act when advocating for growers in dealings with government. Black’s been a part of the agri-food industry long enough to understand the value of an assertive approach, but he often questions some of the decisions made by provincial and federal governments. “There are all kinds of opportunities we should be researching,” says Black, referring to the proposed soy protein isolate processing plant for Huron Commodities at Benmiller as one example (it’s having trouble garnering funding to see its construction). “We’re viewed as an exporting nation, and that seems to be where the federal government wants to lead us, rather than starting up our own industries and doing our own processing and exporting valueadded products. The role should be to lead, but I don’t think we’re doing that.” It’s not as though there aren’t positives with building premium export opportunities, including connections Grain Farmers of Ontario has helped foster with Mexico and soft red wheat, and exporting soybeans. But neither of those came quickly, says Black; they took time and effort, and continued diligence to maintain them. From Grain Farmers of Ontario’s standpoint, he adds, there have been ongoing and open discussions with government, although he distinguishes provincial and federal levels. The latter relations seem to be a little tougher. But it’s all the more reason to continue pressing. “We had a few issues that might not have been solved the way we wanted, but we took the years to solve them and we’ll continue on,” says Black, referring to his time as a director. “You can’t give up because if you do, you won’t get anywhere.” As he reflects on the past 12 years in particular, the most rewarding things about being a director have been the friends he’s made across the province, including farmers, fellow directors and government and industry representatives. •
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