TORONTO - Farmers are facing another crisis because of the high-flying loonie and soaring energy prices, and need financial help from governments or thousands of jobs will be at risk, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture warned Monday.
OFA president Geri Kamenz told hundreds of farmers gathered for the lobby group's annual convention in Toronto that the farm income crisis will remain a priority for some time, but he does expect the federal and provincial governments to offer some level of assistance.
"I think they're going to come up with something. They have to,'' said Kamenz.
"We recognize we're competing with health care and education and everybody else, but we're important. Agriculture is No. 2 in the economy. They need to make those investments.''
Kamenz said things were starting to look up for Ontario farmers earlier this year when some commodity prices began rising, but the sudden jump in the value of the Canadian dollar and oil prices moving towards $100 a barrel have thrown the agricultural sector another curve.
"Last year it was grains and oilseeds struggling with international competition, and today we've got a red meat sector that is struggling because they're an export-oriented industry,'' he said.
"The currency (and) rising feed costs because of competing demands for feed grains from an ethanol industry, we call it the perfect storm. That's dominated our agenda.''
Many people don't realize the impact Ontario's dwindling agricultural sector has on the economy, Kamenz said, noting as an example the 3,000 hog producers in the province who he said generate $3.5 billion a year and help employ about 25,000 Ontarians.
"A producer is saying I'm at the bottom of the value chain, if I disappear, there's a whole mess of jobs that disappear, so right now I need a strategic investment in my business to get me through,'' he said.
"Let's sit down and have that broader discussion about long term (planning) ... but right now, farmers have a problem and investment is required to secure all of those downstream jobs.''
Kamenz also called on governments to help farmers pay for new rules and regulations designed to better protect the environment, many of which required farmers to change the way they operate but haven't had a similar impact on other sectors.
"Farmers are in the business of providing air cleaning services to reduce everyone else's greenhouse gas emissions, water cleaning services while municipalities continue to have bypasses and biodiversity services while urban sprawl continues to gobble up the best habitats,'' Kamenz warned.
"I have said to the premier that we will provide those services, but only if, and I stress if, we receive fair compensation for the services we provide.''
Former premier Bob Rae and former Ontario Conservative agriculture minister Helen Johns both advised the farmers to speak with a strong united voice as they push governments for more money and more programs to counter the impact of subsidies given to American and European farmers.
Current Ontario Agriculture Minister Leona Drombrowski is scheduled to address the OFA delegates Tuesday.
