The Beef Beat

By Darby Wheeler, BFO Policy Advisor darby@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com

Animal Care and Environmental Policy Update

Since starting my role at BFO last August, I have been busy learning and working on a variety of issues affecting the beef industry, while also setting a personal record for attending more virtual meetings than I ever thought I would. I am probably not alone in that. With my background in public policy and public administration, and with my upbringing on a cow-calf operation in Stormont County, working for BFO has perfectly combined two aspects of my life. During my short tenure at BFO so far, I have had the opportunity to dive into many interesting files and, for my introductory Ontario Beef article, I wanted to discuss some of them with you.

Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act

As I am sure many of you are aware of, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, previously referred to as Bill 156, fully came into force on December 5, 2020. The Act was initially introduced into the provincial legislature in December 2019 and received Royal Assent in June 2020. The Act was in response to growing concerns about unwanted trespassers on farms and at processing facilities, and growing safety and biosecurity concerns by farmers and others. The Act aims to balance the protection of the farming and food industry while respecting a citizen’s right to lawful protest.

Broadly speaking, the Act establishes “Animal Protection Zones”, which is a farm, facility or premises where farm animals are kept, and establishes three categories of Animal Protection Zones. For beef farmers, your barns and buildings where animals are kept, pastures, and areas where animals are being transported constitute Animal Protection Zones. These areas do not require any type of signage to designate them as such. Within an Animal Protection Zone, the Act prohibits people from entering and interacting with farm animals without consent and establishes increased fines for those in contravention of the Act.

BFO and other livestock and agriculture organizations were engaged and worked closely during the consultation process as part the development of the Act. BFO has submitted comments on both the Act and its regulations to the provincial government, which can be found on BFO’s website. The Act and associated regulations have far more detail and provisions that my above summary does not cover. If you’re interested in learning more or have questions about the Act, visit BFO’s website or aboutbill156.com, or feel free to reach out to me.

Access to Veterinarian Care

For many farmers in Ontario, particularly in northern Ontario, access to a veterinarian is a major concern. With past resolutions put forward by members, this is a longstanding issue and, arguably, a very complex issue that requires a variety of short-term and long-term solutions, including a collaboration of groups to effectively address the gap in access to veterinary care.

Last August, a working group was established to further investigate the issue of accessing veterinarian care in the beef sector. The group consists of BFO representatives, beef farmers, veterinarians, and representatives from the College of Veterinarians, Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, Ontario Veterinary College, Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians and OMAFRA. The group has discussed many possible solutions such as recruitment and retention of veterinarians in rural and remote areas, possible increased role of veterinarian technicians, and government programs in other areas of Canada and internationally, to name a few.

BFO also provided a letter of support last spring for an OMAFRAfunded project conducted by ACER Consulting that will examine the need, capacity and barriers to accessing food animal veterinary services in various parts of the province. The project is currently underway and will aim to examine policies to address the issue, map and identify underserviced areas, and, ultimately, prepare a final report with their findings and recommendations.

Environment

I have had the opportunity to work on some very interesting environment-related files over the past few months. This includes taking part in various groups and initiatives related to soil health and nutrient management; outlining the role of beef farming in preserving agricultural grasslands and habitat for various species at risk in BFO’s submission on proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act; researching and preparing BFO’s submission for the province’s recent Greenbelt consultation, in which BFO continued to emphasize the importance of sustaining and protecting Ontario’s agricultural lands. BFO is also closely monitoring the federal carbon tax and other federal greenhouse gas (GHG) initiatives, including the ongoing development of the federal GHG offset system.

On the topic of carbon and preserving grasslands: we know when grasslands are converted to other purposes, they release significant amounts of carbon. BFO has been following some exciting projects taking place in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada that involve initiatives to preserve grasslands and better understand the role of grasslands in carbon markets. With the resolution that passed at BFO’s AGM in February this year regarding incentive programs for protecting hay and pastureland, we’ll continue to research different mechanisms to preserve Ontario’s grasslands.

With that, I will conclude by saying I am thrilled to be a part of the BFO team. I look forward to chatting with more of our members on these topics and new and emerging issues. OB