The province has lost over 3000 farms since 2001. The average age of a farmer in Grey/Bruce is approaching 60 years. I was invited to speak at the recent graduation banquet at Chesley District High School where approximately 70% of the students come from working farms. When I asked how many graduates were planning on farming for a living, the answer was “likely none”. Unless we restore profitability to agriculture within five years, I believe we are looking at our last generation of farmers.

The famous economist Adam Smith pointed out in the 1700’s what local farmers know, but the economists in government seem to have missed. It is not possible to have a stable economy or prosperous society without a strong agricultural base. The simple reason agriculture makes all else possible is that we all must eat.

If anyone thinks we can get by on imports, remember the recent recalls of dog food and the many problems with e-coli in produce from long distance transportation. Countries export food to us only when they have the surplus to do so. Changing population and climate can change all of that rapidly.

Neither can we rely upon huge corporate factory farms to ensure our food supply. Input intensive mono-cropping makes for an unstable food system; the proverbial putting all of one’s eggs in one basket.

No, we need the small family farm now as much or more than ever, not only for food security, but also for the employment, rural values and work ethic, good land stewardship, and for the continued life of rural communities.

The objectives of the Green Party’s agriculture policy are to restore the financial viability of the family farm, support higher farmgate prices, assure a reliable supply of local sustainably produced food, preserve ecological diversity, and stabilize the social and economic life of rural communities.
To that end I am committed to the survival and revitalization of agriculture in Grey/Bruce. If elected, the following are some of the policies I will be pushing for in the Ontario legislature:

• Invest $300 million over four years in infrastructure programs to provide support for the development of producer co-ops and community access handling and storage facilities, farm-based business development support for enterprises that supply local markets, support for small-scale and farm-based processing, the promotion of farmer’s markets and other projects such as Grey/Bruce Foodlink that assist farmers in obtaining higher returns for their products.
• Invest $100 million over four years to expand the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program to compensate farmers for the ecological goods and services that they provide to the public such as groundwater recharge, flood and erosion control, air and water purification, and climate modification.
• Create a four year $50 million program to assist farmers with succession planning and to support farm apprenticeship programs.
• Review regulations affecting agriculture to create a level playing field for family farms and small-scale processors. Most government regulations are written for large operations placing unnecessary burdens on smaller producers, particularly farms with value-added enterprises.
• Double the funding for the “Buy Ontario” program to encourage more consumers to purchase Ontario produce.
• Establish food procurement rules for provincial food service venues that support the purchasing of local food products, and create a four-year $40 million renovation fund to assist food service venues to use more fresh products.
• Invest $10 million over four years on an Organic Farming Transition Plan to assist farmers with the transition to organic production methods. The organic sector generally offers farmers better pricing and is growing at a rapid and sustained pace. This program will help Ontario farmers to access this high-value market.
• Reform agricultural research priorities by redirecting funding from technology development such as genetically modified organisms to support for cost minimization and net income maximization for farmers. The government should work with OMAFRA staff to redirect resources toward reduction of input costs, while exploring income opportunities from “waste” products such as power generation.

The agricultural platform of Bill Murdoch’s party is almost exclusively centred on support programs. These programs, originally intended for emergencies such as a drought year or some other unexpected downturn, are important and must be made more accessible to small farmers. But our farmers should not have to depend on these programs to survive even in good years. I don’t know a single farmer who wants to make his living from support cheques, but I do know many who want to make a fair profit for a good day’s work. I believe that the PC party is willfully encouraging the disappearance of small farms through policy that caters to corporate agribusiness and bows to external trade pressures.

I am proud to be running in the former riding of Agnes Macphail, the Grey County woman who pushed for some of the same progressive policies I am supporting when she was the first woman elected to parliament in 1921. In her tradition, I will continue to speak up in defense of Grey/Bruce farmers to ensure that our rural heritage continues.