OTTAWA — 2021 has been a challenging year that included ongoing COVID restrictions, supply chain interruptions, rising prices, a labour shortage, and a higher carbon tax. So, Farmers Forum asked Eastern Ontario farmers: What is your biggest challenge to expanding your business?
“The availability of reasonably priced land. We’re a cash crop business and the price of land is high. It’s been going up steadily over the last number of years. When we moved into this area when I was 14, land was about $300 an acre and there was lots available. Now we’re $18-20,000 an acre. We’re watching if we can find a dealer or just buy very little once in a while but it’s tough to do. We try to make the most of the land that we have and to be more productive on what we have.”
Martin Lang
Crop farmer
Williamstown, Ont.
“Skilled labour. Finding motivated skilled labour workers. We’ve been starting people at a young age and training them ourselves. There’s a labour shortage.”
Duncan Ferguson
Crop farmer
Williamstown, Ont.
“Financial issues. Working out what pencils out and if we can financially a afford to do what we want to grow our business in a certain direction. Land prices, equipment prices. Anything dealing with purchases: fertility, fertilizer, seed prices. Everything is going to go up this year or has gone up already. We’re just not buying anything. I think we have to pick and choose where we invest our money a little better.”
Trevor Cunning
Dairy and crop farmer
Vankleek Hill, Ont.
“It’s between the price of land and the cost of equipment. The pandemic and general inflation on everything, they all go up together. The best thing you can do is improve the land you already own as much as possible, minimiz- ing costs and maximizing crop.”
Scott Fife
Crop farmer
Finch, Ont.
“Land prices. We’re just trying to do a better job with the land that we have now and try to get more out of it.”
Tim Crombach
Crop farmer
Lansdowne, Ont.
