It is very difficult to avoid the natural instinct of doing what we have always done.

In the past our fathers depended on the free market to provide for their families’ reward for hard work and innovation. Canadian Agriculture has become the hallmark of efficiency the world over. Our product quality is never in dispute. Given this stellar track record, why is Stats Canada reporting the worst consecutive years on record for our Agriculture sector? Why are so many other sectors reporting record consecutive profits? The Bible says that the hard working farmer must be first to partake of the crops — or you can say profit from what is produced on his farm .

Twenty years ago corn sold over $150/tonne. Fertilizer was approx $110/tonne and fuel was worth $0.34 per litre. Farmers have not become less efficient but fertilizer is now worth over $500/tonne. Fuel is approaching $0.90 per litre and yesterday (July 17), Winchester corn bid for fall delivery was $118 per tonne.

Any program, whether federal or provincial, that is not cost-based, does not meet the goals set out by our lending institutions. It must be bankable, dependable, predictable and timely. Recently, our provincial auditor described our existing programs as puffery. The true measure of leadership is the ability to discern the benchmarks of either success or failure and to rectify inadequacies within a program in timely fashion. Economic returns to farmers, according to Stats Canada, indicate that governments are failing to meet agriculture’s needs. Another of those benchmarks would be the number of new farmers being able to enter the industry. The goal of more bushels/acre does not meet the financial needs of an industry when all bushels are below cost of production. Programs that do not meet the criteria of generally accepted accounting principles are a farce to the industry they serve. The constant downloads of environmental issues, and accounting costs is an unrealized tax with absolutely no benefit to the farmer.

Farmers are being asked to carry too much risk. Whether it’s climate change, market risk, American farm subsidies, currency, or energy price risks, farmers are extremely exposed and did I mention BSE? Recently, this spring, Mexico experienced a shortage of corn. We read about it in the press. They called it the Tortilla Wars. It was about a shortage of U.S corn for export to Mexico for their staple diet. We all are aware of the huge ethanol expansion, and make no mistake that is very good for agriculture. However, without a domestic supply we are not able to depend on the U.S. to meet our needs. Bureaucrats and government cannot be proud of their legacy. A lack of programs that work have allowed our families to face the onslaught of the U.S. Farm Bill.

A farmer made in Ontario Risk Management Strategy that will provide farmers with a reliable, timely level of income year after year is what we need. Flexibility from our Federal Government to make a Risk Management program work here in Ontario. Out of touch programs like CAIS has brought to the point where we are. An Agricultural Policy Framework that leaves farmers in a hole has been nothing but a disappointment.

Ontario is home to more than 57,000 farms. We make up about a quarter of all the farms in Canada. Some 98 per cent of Canadian farms are family owned. Many farmers are being forced to work off the farm at other jobs to pay the bills because they can’t make it by farming alone. The average Ontario farmer realized a net income of negative $15,000 in the year of 2006. It’s time we fixed the system so that farm families get a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

In closing, Minister Strahl, we are asking you to support our Risk Management Program. The 40 per cent that we have secured provincially isn’t enough to make the program work. We need your 60 per cent to make this program work. Will you join the team? Now it’s your turn to turn this thing around.

A neighbor said there is no culture without Agriculture.

— Dwight Foster, North Gower