5 minute read
Ahead of the Heard
By Jack Chaffe, BFO President info@ontariobeef.com • www.ontariobeef.com
My First 90 Days
Transitioning into a new role can be exciting, humbling and daunting for many reasons. In my case, I was gratefully elected as BFO President in February, and I have been navigating the transition to my new leadership role over the last 90 days. I’ve come to understand the vulnerability that comes with establishing new relationships and the learning curve in understanding the duties and responsibilities of the BFO President. Thankfully, I was fortunate to serve the organization as vice president for the last two years under the helm of outgoing president, Rob Lipsett. My time with Rob and BFO over the last seven years have served me well, and I am looking forward to leading the organization and representing our members in the year ahead. On behalf of the BFO Board of Directors, we are extremely appreciative of Rob’s leadership over the last two years during such a difficult time for our sector and many alike.
As we wrapped up our 60th annual meeting, which you can read more about on page 8, my first 90 days began. In early March, I attended the Ontario Food Summit hosted by Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson. I was joined by over 125 leaders from across the food supply chain to discuss food security and strategies to strengthen our food system, and increase the competitiveness of our agriculture products. Next, I attended the Ontario Feeder Finance Annual Meeting, which returned to an in-person event in Guelph. It was nice to enjoy some good company and discussion, and celebrate some good news for the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program. On February 23, the Government of Ontario announced an increase in the loan limits from $500,000 to $1 million for individual members and $1.5 million for corporate members. There’s no doubt this increase in the loan limits will help ensure financing limits keep pace with the price of cattle and in turn, maintain the program’s relevancy and benefits for our cattle feeding sector here in Ontario.
Later in the month, I traveled to Ottawa for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association Annual Meeting where I was appointed co-chair of the Foreign Trade Committee with CCA Past President, Bob Lowe. I was also thankful to be invited to a couple of local association meetings in Lambton and Perth. It’s nice to see our associations resuming meetings and gatherings for discussions and much-needed fellowship.
We returned to the BFO office for our in-person board meetings beginning in March, and at that meeting we developed a more flexible meeting schedule to be more inclusive to all directors from across the province with respect to their travel time. We have moved to a combination of in-person and virtual meetings with some full days and some half days scheduled. I hope this flexibility will support our current directors and their time away from home, but also encourage others to think about joining the board.
More recently, we’ve had meetings with our partners in the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition (fruit and vegetables, grains, pork, sheep and veal), and with Minister Thompson and Premier Ford’s office to talk about our collective request for an increase to Ontario’s Risk Management Program (RMP) as we lead into the provincial election in June.
As we meet with local candidates, we continue to press that beef farmers are currently facing an unprecedented level of uncertainty, and risks that cannot be mitigated by good management alone. Significant inflationary cost of inputs, trade and supply chain disruptions, increasing frequency of adverse weather events, and a level of market volatility we have never experienced are all contributing to a challenging environment to operate a thriving business. To remedy these risks, sustain our province’s beef capacity and promote new economic output, we need to see an increase in Ontario’s investment in RMP.
Aside from our ask to increase the funding cap on RMP, we have four additional priorities we continue to advocate for on your behalf:
1. Commit to increase the cap on the Ontario Risk Management Program (RMP) by $100 million annually.
2. Commit to increase investment in programs that support meat processing capacity and infrastructure, and the training, recruitment, and retention of meat cutters and industrial butchers.
3. Commit to support mental health services and resources for farmers and agri-food workers.
4. Commit to preserve farmland through sound provincial land use policy that sees agricultural lands, including marginal lands used for livestock grazing and carbon sequestration, protected as the highest and best use of our province’s arable land.
5. Commit to conduct a review with the agriculture sector of farm inspection and enforcement practices employed under the Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) Act.
As the election approaches, now is the time we really need the voice of our grassroots members. I would strongly encourage you to reach out to your local candidates and let them know how your business is doing, and what type of support would be helpful to you and the broader beef sector. To assist in your discussions, we have developed a number of resources to help, which can be found on our website. We have an election toolkit, which outlines our priorities in detail, a “click and submit” tool to help you connect directly with your local candidates, and advice on how best to connect with your candidates. As always, the BFO staff are available to assist, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to the office.
I look forward to representing you and advocating for a healthy beef sector in Ontario. All the best for a bountiful growing and grazing season. OB