Study will shape future services
By BERNARD TOBIN
Next March, Ontario farmers will get a preview of what services the provincial farm ministry will provide in the next millennium, and who will deliver them in a revamped ministry information transfer system.The ministry is currently doing a study to determine how best to focus advisory and information transfer. Provincial Agriculture Minister Noble Villeneuve says farmers will help shape the ministry's program, and have an opportunity to consult with the architects.
The study will be co-chaired by assistant deputy minister Frank Ingratta and Terry Daynard, who will work part-time with the ministry independent from his job as executive vice-president of the Ontario Corn Producers Association. In the fall of 1995, Villeneuve travelled the province holding a series of 'Table Talks' with farmers to help set priorities for his ministry. The Table Talks conclusions were used as a blueprint to chop $57 million from the ministry's budget last April, which included the closing of 10 field offices across the province. But Villeneuve says his new study results will not be used as a guide to further spending reductions.
"When we did the Table Talks, we were told that 'research and development is very important, but get the stuff out to where it can be used.'
"If we save some money and we can get the information across to people who can use it in the best way possible, I think we've accomplished two things. But we're primarily looking to transfer information....If some dollars are saved, so be it." Savings could be high on Villeneuve's list if Finance Minister Ernie Eves asks provincial ministries for more savings in a financial statement to be delivered this month. Eves is expected to announce a new round of $3 billion in spending cuts.
But Villeneuve says he's confident that his cabinet colleagues understand the importance of agriculture. "I would be very surprised if we weren't in a position to support [agriculture] as the second most important entity in the province." At press time, Villeneuve said he hasn't been asked "to cut money yet". The corn producers' Daynard, who's spent a lot of his time lobbying against farm cuts, says when he agreed to take the co-chairman's job, he made it clear to the minister that "I won't write a recipe for downsizing" the ministry.
Daynard says "farmers' needs are changing and it's worth taking a look at" different information transfer systems. Daynard will use his vast knowledge of research and technology transfer systems to determine what could work best for Ontario.
One option under consideration would be a land grant research system such as the one used by Cornell University. In these systems extension services are provided through agriculture colleges. If the system were adapted to Ontario, for instance, extension staff would be employed by the University of Guelph at arm's length from the ministry.
Daynard will also draw on his knowledge of European extension delivery systems.
Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Tony Morris says he supports the intent of the study. With telecommunication advances and the growing number of farmers using the Internet to gather information, it's appropriate to evaluate the ministry's current service delivery system, Morris says. He's also confident that Daynard will do what's best for Ontario farmers.
The ministry's Ingratta says the study will determine "the best system for the long term....If we can achieve some savings then certainly we will do this," but that's not the target. "Our objective is to ensure a world-class system is in place to deliver advisory and information services."
Ingratta does admit that "there continues to be budgetary pressure....In any planning exercise we need to have that in the background." He also points out that cost recovery and privatization has been tried in other countries.
Ingratta hopes to identify a variety of options in the report, which he is expected to turn over to the minister next March. Until they sit down to write the report, Daynard and Ingratta want to meet with farm groups, farmers, agribusiness and staff. Ingratta says there is no intention to set up town hall meetings. "Meetings will tend to be more focused."
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Crops advisers are few and far between
BY TOM BUTTON
Don't expect to see your county soil and crop adviser driving up your lane this winter, or to sit down at your kitchen table with a farm business adviser to chat about your estate planning.The provincial agriculture ministry has pulled one-third of its advisers off the front lines, and ordered those who remain to spend a lot less time one-on-one with farmers.
Instead, farmers will see government extension staff on television, in workshops, and through a new generation of computer CD-ROMs.
This winter, Ontario has 14 field crop advisers, plus five field crop specialists, down from 27 last winter.
Last year, Peter Johnson was soils and crops adviser for Middlesex; this winter, he's also responsible for Elgin, pushing his territory to 800,000 acres.
Johnson's expanded turf covers 1,500 square miles, and includes 3,500 farmers who own a minimum 130 acres. If he could visit four farmers a day, it would take him over three years to shake hands with every farmer on his beat.
Jack Kyle at Brighton adds Prince Edward to the Peterborough, Northumberland and Hastings territory he covered last year. Christine Brown gets Norfolk and Brant, more than tripling the area she covered in Oxford last year
In eastern Ontario, the agriculture ministry is still looking for a crops adviser to replace Paul Sullivan, who had worked Renfrew and Carleton.
Sullivan covers the same territory from his Kinburn base, but as a private consultant, not a government employee. "A number of farmers came up to me and said they'd be willing to pay me to do the things I did for free when I was with the government," Sullivan says.
"A lot of guys have a lot of decisions to make," he says. "They know they have to keep up, but they also know they can't do it on their own."
Sullivan is charging about $5 per acre, depending on the level of service. "The best part is, I get to keep working with individual farmers. It's the part of the job I always liked best."
The story is the same across the province, but nowhere is it in bolder print than in Essex, Kent and Lambton, where each county used to have a soil and crop adviser.
Now they have to share. Gabrielle Ferguson working out of the Petrolia office is responsible for all three counties, with 1.3 million acres of crops, including more than one-third of the province's soybeans and one-fifth of its corn production. "I've got a lot of respect for Gabrielle, but there's no way she can give us the level of service we've had in the past," says Bill Mailloux, Amherstburg cash crop and turkey producer and president of the Essex Soil and Crop Improvement Association.
Mailloux says farmers have relied on their soil and crop adviser for recommendations that are tailored to the county's soils and cropping programs. The local soil and crop organization relied on their adviser to make sure their on-farm tests gave valid results.
Mailloux says farmers also developed a two-way relationship with a soil and crop adviser, so work would get done on the problems that affect farmers the most.
"Everybody else has their own agenda or something to sell," he says. "The soil and crop adviser was the only one that you knew was truly independent."
It will be tougher to build trust with an adviser who covers three counties, and not just because of distance. "Our season is different, a lot of our weeds are different, and our pests come at different times," Mailloux says. "We'll figure something out, but it's a lot of distance to cover."
Bill Stevens, whose five years as Essex soil and crop adviser came to an end with a pink slip last spring, is still working with county farmers, but now as agronomist for Cargill.
Instead of dealing with over 2,000 farmers across the county, he'll set up intensive scouting and consulting programs with about 200 farmers, and help another couple hundred with fertilizer and pesticide choices.
"The bigger the area you cover, the less help your information can be," Stevens says. "With a big area you have to generalize. You can't get specific without putting in so many 'ifs' and 'buts' that you lose value."
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OMAFRites get new job description
"Helping farmers help themselves" is the new goal of Ontario's extension programs.The provincial government has cut its corps of agronomists by one-third. What may prove even more important, however, is the way it is re-writing the jobs of the staff that are still in the countryside.
Rod Stork, manager of the team that used to be called farm business advisers, says field staff are being told to spend a lot less one-on-one time with individual farmers.
Still, Stork says that despite the cuts, the provincial agriculture ministry will do an even better job of helping farmers keep up to date with new technology and new business opportunities.
"There are a lot of exciting things we're going to do," Stork says.
The re-organization starts with a new layer of field staff. Called specialists, they're former advisers who now have specialized responsibilities.
For instance, Keith Reid has stopped being field crops adviser for Bruce county, and is now responsible for soil fertility. Adam Hayes used to be field crops adviser for Kent, but is now responsible for soil management.
Business specialists will focus on issues ranging from business analysis to human resource management. Livestock specialists in beef, dairy and swine will tackle topics ranging from nutrition to marketing and product quality.
Stork says there's no hiding the fact that the ministry has been pushed into re-structuring because of budget cuts. Still, he says, "We can build on our successes. I've been with the ministry for 26 years. Our objectives are still the same." -TB
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Ratite growers welcome new plant
By BERNARD TOBIN
Ontario ratite producers say a new processing plant, scheduled to begin operation next month, will help the fledgling industry crack the domestic market.Emu and ostrich products currently occupy shelf space at Sobeys and Loblaws stores, and prime cuts can be found on some high-end restaurant menus, but limited production facilities have hampered industry growth, says Paul Witmer, president of Canadian Emu Co-operative Inc. (CEMU).
The processing plant, an existing facility located in St. Anns on the Niagara Peninsula, was purchased by the co-operative and a group of investors from the Paletta family. Financial details have not been released, but Witmer says the co-operative will own "a small percentage" and guarantee a supply of birds.
Witmer says the plant will handle 250 birds per week, including emus, ostriches and rheas, but could kill 500 birds at peak capacity. Other alternative livestock, including deer, will likely be needed to keep the facility operating at top efficiency.
Cuts will be cold-stored at Kitchener's Conestoga Packers, while drums will be further processed at Simon De Groot Meat Products at Brampton, which produces sausage, burgers and pâté.
Processing capacity has been a major stumbling block for the industry, says Ontario Ratite Association president Sharon Heutinck. The new facility "is absolutely the best news we've ever had," she says. Growers had been killing 50 birds per week at Grandview Farms at Proton Station, Grey county, but many birds stayed on the farm, producing a glut of birds ready for market.
"Our main goal is to develop the domestic market," Witmer says, but the co-operative will turn to export markets to clear the glut. "Growers were feeding birds longer, and that takes the profit out of it."
Witmer says export inquiries have come from throughout the European Community, but because of the processing bottleneck, "we couldn't kill birds and get them to market."
The St. Anns facility will be federally inspected and will clear the way for distribution throughout Canada and to export markets. Major supermarket chains are more willing to purchase federally-inspected product, which can be distributed nationally. Witmer hopes the facility will also pass EU inspection, clearing the path for exports to Europe. European regulations are "quirky", Witmer says.
Farm plans get cash injection
After four years, $8.6 million of federal taxpayers' money, and 1,813 farmers, the Environmental Farm Plan is getting a new $5.6-million, three-year lease on life."The momentum is there," an optimistic Mike Cooper said last month in Guelph, where farm leaders announced $5.6 million in federal funding for the Environmental Farm Plan program, which encourages farmers to do an environmental audit of their farms, and make necessary corrections.
The program, based on a similar effort in Wisconsin, was launched by a coalition of farm groups in 1992, at the height of the environmentally-friendly NDP government.
Four years later, however, farmers have not flocked to sign up. With the new business-friendly Conservative government, there is less urgency on the environment. Some farmers are wary of releasing information; others are simply unaware of the program.
As of late October, 1,813 farmers had received up to $1,500 in incentive funding, after having completed two day-long workshops, developed an "action plan", and submitted it for "peer review" by other farmers. Of a total of 7,750 farmers at various stages in the program, 3,524 had had a plan reviewed, said Georgetown cash cropper Bill Allison, chairman of AGCare. Cooper, a veal producer from Cambridge, said the low numbers are comprised of the "innovators", and the "mass" would soon follow: "We're starting to get momentum."
The new $5.6-million grant, which comes via the Agricultural Adaptation Council, brings the Environmental Farm Plans to the year 2000. Allison said the target is 6,000 to 8,000 farmers over the next three years. Administration costs would be kept under 20 per cent, he said, adding that a rush of farmers was expected now that new petroleum storage rules are known. Applications for incentives are running up to 200 per month, but there would likely be a surplus when current funding expires March 31, 1997, Allison said: "We are trying to responsibly work through the incentives." Any surplus could be spent on printing more "Best Management Practices" booklets, said Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario vice-president John Deelstra.
The program injects millions into the rural economy, Allison said. For every $1 in government money, farmers spend $3 to $4 of their own on the project, he said. Over the three years, the program is expected to fuel $20 million in spending across rural Ontario.
The program is open to commercial and hobby farmers alike, said Allison: "You simply have to demonstrate that you're making an action to improve the environment."
The new money comes at a time when "the Ontario government appears to be relaxing some of its environmental standards," said Roger George, chairman of the Guelph-based Agricultural Adaptation Council, which will administer $28 million in federal "adaptation" funding announced in the 1995 federal budget.
Allison, however, indicated that it's short-sighted to ease up on environmental improvements simply because of the government of the day: "What's the government going to be like in another three years?" - JMM
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Egg dumping alleged
An interprovincial dumping dispute has Quebec and Ontario producers lobbing eggs at each other.Following complaints from Ontario producers, St. Bernard, Quebec-based egg producer les oeufs Blais & Breton Enr. was scheduled to appear before a Canadian Egg Marketing Agency (CEMA) "show-cause" hearing Nov. 12.
The decision was unavailable at press time, but CEMA chief executive officer Neil Currie said before the hearing that "the agency has an obligation to pursue cases of dumping." Regulations allow interprovincial egg trade, but stipulate that "eggs are not to be sold interprovincially other than the source province at a price that is less than local prices plus reasonable transportation costs."
"Typically, the price in the receiving province should be higher," said Currie.
At the hearing, the company involved will be asked to "show why the agency should not suspend, revoke, or fail to issue an interprovincial licence," he said.
According to CEMA interprovincial trade figures, Ontario producers ship about twice as many eggs to Quebec than Quebec ships back. Last June, for instance, Ontario producers shipped 81,000 boxes, at 30 dozen a box, to Quebec, and Quebec producers shipped 37,000 boxes to Ontario.
The Ontario egg industry is almost twice as large as Quebec's: 182 million dozen in 1994 versus 82 million in Quebec.
When asked about the dumping charges, Serge Breton, director of les oeufs Blais & Breton, said it was "rather the opposite" - 30,000 boxes coming from Ontario every week, compared to 500 to 600 into Ontario. Blais & Breton serves the Quebec City market from St. Bernard, a 20-minute drive away, but a truck was recently spotted on Highway 401 near Toronto. A tight-lipped Breton said there are absolutely "no facts" to support dumping allegations. - JMM
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Hort growers slam new safety net
Farmers who grow fresh fruit and vegetables believe they've been sold out by farmers who grow big-acreage crops.The federal and provincial governments unveiled a new Net Income Stabilization Account (NISA) program for horticultural producers earlier this month. Called Self-Directed Risk Management (SDRM), it's meant to give safety-net protection to farmers who grow crops that aren't covered by the Gross Revenue Income Plan (GRIP).
In many cases, these crops aren't covered by crop insurance either.
Horticulture farmers had been asking for SDRM for three years, but John Jaques, president of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, says they were shocked when they saw the details.
Instead of being allowed to top up their NISA accounts with an extra six per cent of net sales, with the federal and provincial governments each kicking in three per cent, under the new program producers are limited to one per cent for Ottawa, one per cent for Queen's Park, and three per cent for farmers.
George McCaw, policy analyst for the Ontario agriculture ministry, expects about 1,000 farmers will sign up for SDRM. Ontario has 2,500 horticultural farmers with NISA accounts, but SDRM doesn't apply to processing vegetables, or to mushrooms or maple products.
McCaw believes the program will cost the federal and provincial governments from $1 to $2 million each. Ontario's share will have to come out of the province's $75-million safety net budget, McCaw says, so every $1 the provincial government spends on SDRM will take $1 away from its spending on GRIP.
That approach infuriates Jaques, who says it has split the farm community.
Jaques charges that, until late September, the province was ready to go for the so-called 3:3:6 plan. Then, he says, key horticultural marketing boards complained to Agriculture Minister Noble Villeneuve that the program would siphon away money their farmers need.
Jaques says major grain groups complained as well, although he says "They did it more quietly.
"This is a clear case of the 'haves' lobbying against the 'have-nots'," says Jaques, a Kent county asparagus grower. Jaques says that many horticultural commodities ranging from musk melons to bokchoy can't get either GRIP or crop insurance. In theory, the province's 120 asparagus farmers have a crop insurance plan, he says. In practice, its coverage is so low that only a couple of farmers are enrolled.
"What we were really looking for is a level of support that's equal to what other commodities get from crop insurance," Jaques says. "We didn't get it, mainly because the other crops and the crop insurance commission worked against us." The new SDRM plan is to run on a trial basis for two years, starting with the 1996 tax year. - TB
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