Beef Farmers of Ontario congratulated Premier Doug Ford on his party’s election victory and current Agriculture Minister Rob Flack and his predecessors, Lisa Thompson and Ernie Hardeman on their re-elections.
And then it laid out what it wants from them.
1. Ensure farmers have access to sufficient risk protection to guard against increased market volatility, specifically trade threats, input cost volatility, and supply chain disruptions.
2. Defend Ontario’s trading relationship with the United States and vigorously oppose any U.S. tariffs on Ontario agri-food products, or reciprocal tariffs that would negatively impact the beef sector, specifically cattle, beef and beef products, and other critical inputs.
3. Conduct a formal review of the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act and its underlying regulations and operational processes. Seek to create distinct and tailored systems of enforcement and regulatory frameworks for livestock, companion animals, and zoos and aquariums, similar to what is done in other jurisdictions.
4. Create more robust incentive structures to increase food animal veterinary capacity across Ontario, including modernization and increased funding support for the Veterinary Assistance Program.
5. Provide funding to support an expansion of community pasture cooperatives in Ontario through infrastructure assistance, land improvement grants, and preferential financing and/or direct funding to support land acquisition.
6. Introduce property tax relief measures through the development of a new property tax assessment class for food processors, particularly abattoirs, or through other targeted measures that will help reduce the tax burden on processors of food.
8. Provide a government-backed guarantee under the Ontario Beef Breeder Loan Program to improve competitive financing options for farmers, particularly young farmers, and to help grow participation and access to preferential financing across the province to support cow herd growth and sector entry.
9. Make significant new investments in meat processing capacity focused on increasing access to infrastructure grants, access to labour and skills training, market development support, and other measures that will help measurably increase processing capacity in
Ontario.
The Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition also sent its congratulations and said it wants to work with the government on its promise of an additional $100 million for risk management programs.
