Five years of low commodity prices and no government plan to deal with it has created a countryside bursting with angry farmers, says the Ontario Corn Producers Association general manager Brian Doidge. "You’re watching the demise of an industry as we speak."

In an interview with Farmers Forum, Doidge lashed out, saying "The federal government has done nothing. That’s why you are going to see the countryside explode. There’s a lot of anger out there."

For the last 5 of 6 years net farm income has been a negative number while Canadian crop exports surged over that time. "It should tell anyone with a brain that the Canadian ag policy isn’t working."

Commodity groups have been promoting a made-on-the-farm solution with its Risk Management Program but there is so far little indication that the new Conservative government will accept it. "It doesn’t fit this country’s agricultural policy, which is to export as much bulk as you can," said Doidge, with obvious scorn.

The risk management program is the best plan farmers have to offset the generous U.S. farm bill. The U.S. bill guarantees generous subsidies for crops and has given American producers the reputation of farming the mailbox.

That tilted playing field has lead Ontario corn producers to plant fewer acres every year since 2000. Last year 1.6 million acres of corn was planted in Ontario. "We anticipate losing 150,000 acres this spring," Doidge said. There are 21,000 corn producers in Ontario.

With corn prices hovering at $100 a tonne it means that growers like Lanark County’s Kevin Willows earns about $340 an acre. And that means he’s losing about $50 an acre. He planted 270 acres last year. That translated to losing about $13,500. He’s cutting back on corn and moving into hay production.

But not all is lost with the Conservatives. "We think we’re making progress," Doidge said. "For the first time at the national all-candidates debate there was a question on agriculture. All the parties admitted that CAIS isn’t working."

Meantime, farmers will not wait for a solution, he said, noting upcoming rallies in Guelph Feb. 14 and in Ottawa Feb. 21.

"Any farmer that can get involved needs to get involved," he said. The rallies are promoted by the "unified voice" of commodity groups and farm lobby groups.

Grassroots rally organizer, Dwight Foster, a North Gower crop farmer, is frustrated with the federal and provincial governments, which he says continue to lob responsibility for agriculture into each other’s court. The reality, he says, is that if they don’t support agriculture then cities will be supplied with food from countries with low quality standards. People often ask about the quality of food before visiting certain countries, he said, adding that this is the food that will be on our plates.