A weekly press release prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. If you require further information, regarding this press release, please call the Fergus Resource Centre at 519-846-0941. Office hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For technical information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or visit the OMAFRA Website: www.ontario.ca/omafra
WELCOME GREG SIMPSON,
SWINE NUTRITIONIST, OMAFRA, FERGUS
We are pleased to announce that Greg Simpson has joined the OMAFRA swine team as the Swine Nutritionist with the Agriculture Development Branch.
A University of Guelph graduate, Greg earned his BSc(Agr) and then completed a MSc in monogastric nutrition with Dr. Kees deLange. Following graduation, he worked for 9 years in marketing, nutrition and sales roles with a multi-national feed company. During his tenure, Greg was primarily responsible for developing and bringing to market value added products, services and programs to improve swine performance and profitability. In addition, he provided field sales support in swine nutrition through research, technology transfer and technical service to swine producers in Ontario and parts of Eastern Canada.
Greg will be based out of the Fergus OMAFRA office. In this role he will develop and deliver leading edge technical information on swine nutrition through publications, presentations and consultation with researchers and industry partners. As part of the Agriculture Development Branch, he will also contribute to program and policy development. He can be reached at 519-846-3401 or via email at greg.simpson@ontario.ca.
ECOLOGICAL FARMERS ASSOCIATION
PRE-ORGANIC CONFERENCE COURSES
The Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario will hold a series of pre Organic Conference courses:
January 24 & 25 – Introduction to Ecological Agriculture, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., $140
January 24 & 25 – Transition to Certified Organic Farming, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., $200
January 24 – Market Garden Crop Rotation, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., $70
January 24 – Finding the Balance – Interpreting Soil Tests for Organic Farmers,
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., $70
January 24 – Direct Marketing, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., $70
January 25 – Field Crop Rotation, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., $70
January 25 – Composting, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., $70
EFAO members will receive a $20/day discount on course fees. Courses will be held at 1 Stone Road (OMAFRA Building) or the University of Guelph. Exact location will be confirmed at time of registration.
For course details and/or registration, call the EFAO office at 519-822-8606 or e-mail info@efao.ca. Visit http://www.guelphorganicconf.ca/ for more details.
ONTARIO CATTLE, HOG & HORTICULTURE PAYMENT
On Thursday December 13, 2007, the Ontario government announced that it will deliver $150 million in financial assistance to cattle, hogs and horticulture producers. Agricorp will deliver $130 million directly to producers under the Ontario Cattle, Hog and Horticulture Payment (OCHHP).
Eligibility: To be eligible for the OCHHP, producers must meet two requirements:
1.They must have received a federal Cost of Production (COP) payment and/or an Ontario Cost Recognition Top-up (OCRT) payment.
2. At least half of their total commodity sales as reported to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in 2005 and/or 2006 must have come from any combination of cattle, hogs, or horticulture.
No Application: The OCHHP will determine eligibility using information from the COP and OCRT payments. Producers who did not receive a COP or OCRT payment are not eligible to receive the OCHHP.
Payment Information: Eligible producers will receive a payment based on their historical allowable net sales (ANS) between 2000 and 2004. This information can be found by dividing Line A by Line B on the federal COP statement.
There are three payment scenarios:
• For eligible producers with at least 50 percent of their sales coming from cattle and/or hogs, the payment rate will be 12 percent of their ANS as calculated from their COP statements.
• For eligible producers with at least 50 percent of their sales coming from horticulture, the payment rate will be 2 percent of their historical ANS as calculated from their COP statements. This payment rate will apply if the producer also reported sales in cattle and/or hogs.
• For producers who require a combination of horticulture and cattle/hogs to meet the 50 percent requirement, the payment rate will be calculated based on the weighted proportion of their sales in each eligible commodity.
Examples:
Cattle or hogs: For eligible cattle or hog producers with historical ANS of $100,000, payment is calculated as follows: 12% X $100,000 = $12,000
Horticulture: For eligible horticulture producers with historical ANS of $100,000, payment is calculated as follows: 2% X $100,000 = $2,000
Mix of horticulture with cattle and/or hogs: For producers who require a combination of horticulture and cattle/hogs to meet the 50 percent requirement, the payment is calculated as shown in the following example:
A producer with $100,000 in total commodity sales in 2005 calculates that cattle and hogs generated $30,000 and horticulture generated $40,000, for a total of $70,000. If this producer has historical ANS of $150,000, the payment rate would be calculated as follows: [12% X ($30,000/$70,000)] + [2% X ($40,000/$70,000)] = 6.28%
Therefore, the payment would be 6.28% X $150,000, or $9,420.
Timing of Payments: Agricorp will begin delivering payments to producers in February 2008.
For further information, please contact Agricorp – Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone: 1-877-838-5144 Fax: 519-826-4334 or the website at: www.agricorp.com.
REMINDER
ENVIRONMENTAL FARM PLAN WORKSHOP
To qualify for financial assistance to complete environmental improvements on your farm a completed 3rd Edition Environmental Farm Plan is needed.
A two-day Environmental Farm Plan Workshop has been scheduled for Wednesday, January 23 and January 30, 2008 at the Fire Hall in Mount Forest from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Please call John Benham at 519-846-3394 for more information or to register for this workshop.
REMINDER – AG DAY IN CANADA – January 23, 2008
Be part of something big – join in to celebrate the first ever Ag Day in Canada on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Italian Canadian Club, 135 Ferguson Street, Guelph.
We’ll gather in communities across Canada to recognize the people who live and breathe agriculture and make it one of the country’s most vital and vibrant industries.
We’ll talk with industry leaders about the future and forecasts for the coming year. We’ll examine production outlooks and explore issues that will help you make decisions that affect your bottom line. For more information about Ag Day in Canada, visit www.AgDayinCanada.ca or contact your local FCC office at 1-800-387-3232.
COMING EVENTS: 2008
Jan. 22 Halton-Peel Corn-Wheat-Soybean AGM at the Peel Regional Police Hall in Mississauga. 9:30 a.m. start. Lunch is provided. For more information, call 519-837-1660.
Jan. 23 Waterloo Region Corn-Wheat-Soybean AGM at the Grand Valley Golf Course, 10:00 a.m. start. Lunch is provided. For more information, call 519-837-1660.
Jan. 23 Ag Day in Canada from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Italian Canadian Club, 135 Ferguson Street, Guelph. For more information please check the website: AgCanadainCanada.ca or contact your local FCC office at 1-800-387-3232.
Jan. 25 Annual Meeting of the Fergus Agricultural Society will at the Fergus Legion at 7:00 p.m. For further information please call Wendy at 519-856-9621.
Jan. 30 OCPA Reg5 AGM (Dufferin, Halton, Peel, Waterloo, Wellington) at the Rockwood Community Centre Library Room, at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call 519-837-1660.
