(OntLA.on.ca)

Ontario general farm organization fee increasing

Ontario farmers will be paying more for their representation by their general farm organizations in 2018 after the government approved a $30 increase. The annual fee will be $225 plus HST for membership in the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario or National Farmers Union-Ontario. All registered farmers have to pay the

Norm McNaughton (l) and Pierre Lampron (r) with CanWest DHI chair Ed Friesen. (CanwestDHI.com)

Dairy services organizations create partnership

Three major service providers in Canadian dairy farming have formed a partnership that will result in one company supplying herd management and genetic services to Canadian dairy farmers. The partnership, including CanWest DHI, Valacta and the Canadian Dairy Network (CDN), still has to be approved by farmer-members of the organizations. CanWest DHI provides on-farm testing


Keith Currie was acclaimed to a second term as OFA president at the organization’s annual meeting Nov. 20-21 in Toronto. (John Greig photo)

OFA pre-election policy targets broader economic development

Stable rural areas and thriving farms can help urbanites with some of their biggest challenges. That’s the message from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture going into next year’s provincial election. The OFA talked about how it is framing its election strategy at its annual meeting, which ran Monday and Tuesday in Toronto. “With the election



(Thinkstock photo)

Ontario’s sheep producers rebrand

The organization that represents sheep farmers in Ontario has a new name and look. The Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency (OSMA) is now known as the Ontario Sheep Farmers, effective at the Ontario Sheep Convention held Thursday and Friday at Alliston. OSMA’s board of directors made the change following a resolution at the 2015 annual meeting.



(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Dicamba label sufficient, Health Canada says

Health Canada will not be further regulating the use of dicamba herbicide sprayed on growing crops, as has happened in the U.S. The government agency that regulates pesticides issued a statement to Glacier FarmMedia reiterating its support for the current Canadian labels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week increased restrictions on the use



(Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Chair, directors named for Ontario vegetable board

The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission has named a new chair and four directors for the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers board, with another four directors to be elected by growers this week. Suzanne van Bommel, a farm co-owner with a long history of work in the agriculture sector, has been appointed chair. The province dismissed