Merger years in making

Grassroots farmers first raised the idea in Manitoba

The first talk of farm groups merging began in 2013 when Halbstadt-area farmer Danny Penner circulated a letter calling on commodity groups to merge nationally to save farmers money. At the provincial level groups began exploring the idea quietly in 2014 with discussions between staffers at the various organizations. Some of the interest stemmed from

Grain Farmers of Ontario an example of commodity group merger

The group began by merging corn, soybeans and wheat into a single association, but has since added barley and oats

One of the clearest examples of what merged farm groups might look like is the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO). It began operations Jan. 1, 2010 after Ontario corn, soybean and wheat farmers voted strongly to merge their individual commodity groups, GFO chief executive officer Barry Senft, said May 4. In 2015 Ontario barley and