LONDON — Last year’s vomitoxin troubles in corn were still top of mind for Grain Farmers of Ontario delegates, as it accounted for one-third of 21 resolutions at the semi-annual delegates meeting last month.
Here are the 21 resolutions:
GFO will work with all parties to establish standardized testing procedures for all facilities receiving corn (wet or dry).
Lobby all facilities to have trained staff in place to administer the tests in the above resolution, with an avenue for producers to challenge/appeal test results.
Lobby for release of test results of the susceptibility of hybrids to DON (vomitoxin) to farmers for the 2018 crop and urge that it be incorporated into the performance trials reports on an ongoing basis.
Lobby for increased DON compensation for the 2018 crop year.
Look into the unfairness and differences in companies’ policies when it comes to accepting vomitoxin corn and ask for the level to be increased to at least three parts per million in a year like 2018 when levels above 2 ppm are detected.
Work with all parties to establish parameters for any deductions for vomitoxin corn to be assessed based on the financial impact of the end users.
Work with Agricorp to include annual coverage for DON affected corn crop, and provide producers with targeted funding levels and required premium rates to fund the program.
Support a partial annual certification process for licensed farm vehicles and present the idea to the Ministry of Transportation.
Petition the provincial government to cancel all plans to impose a Natural Heritage Plan on Ontario landowners and municipalities.
Lobby the necessary government agencies to exempt Ontario farmers from carbon tax on diesel, propane and natural gas.
Find and take advantage of any opportunities to raise awareness of farm road safety through the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada.
Be present at the next AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario), ROMA (Rural Ontario Municipal Association) and Ontario Good Roads Association conferences to ensure that future road upgrades can safely and effectively accommodate agricultural machinery.
Be aware that a goal to decrease phosphorus levels entering Lake Erie could lead to many restrictions around fertilizer use and amounts. Be aware that this could lead to land being taken out of production adjacent to waterways and ditches. Be aware that government support for costs and losses could be little to none. Assign a staff person to act as the GFO point person on this issue and provide information to delegates involved in regional working groups.
Pursue the use of blockchain technology to enable and track grain transactions.
Lobby OMAFRA and the Ministry of the Environment to revert back to the 2018 procedure whereby IPM certified producers could do their own insect studies and paper application, thereby saving producers considerable expense, time and red tape.
Encourage Agricorp to include all crops that achieve a yield guarantee a protection for severely damaged crops with reduced market value.
Work to have Garlon RTU (or other products using the same active ingredient) registered for use on wild buckthorn by licensed farm pesticide applicators.
Request that Agricultural Minister Ernie Hardeman ensure some printed materials be made available instead of by electronic access only.
Work with stakeholders to move towards 500-gram sample sizes and cleaning/flushing of probes and testing equipment to improve consistency and avoid cross contamination between loads.
Resolve that GFO board of directors be involved in the discussions of additional seed costs the federal government wants to impose on the farmer for the special interest of the seed supplier monopoly.
Lobby the federal government to provide funding to grain farmers to compensate for damage incurred through the NAFTA negotiations and the U.S. trade war with China.
