New member discount on Blundstone boots!
The NFU-O has partnered with Australian Boot Company to add another perk to their membership benefits! Members can now enjoy 15% off adult CSA Greenpatch Blundstones and R.M Williams boots through the Boots for the Job of Life program.
To participate, please present your membership card when you make your...Read More »
USMCA Leaves Canada's dairy sector behind
Oct. 3, 2018
(Westmeath, ON) This morning, the sun rose on a new trade agreement. NAFTA is in the archives, and USMCA is the new deal. As I walked around the barn milking the cows and feeding calves, it was obvious that, for the cattle, nothing had changed....Read More »
Survey Results: Top 5 ways the provincial government can support farmers
After the provincial election in June, we surveyed our members to find out how they thought the government could best support farmers. Here are the top 5 issues they came up with!
...Read More »
Survey: Swallow populations & farming practices in Southern Ontario
Nature Canada is working with the National Farmers’ Union, ALUS and other farming/rural groups to help Ontario’s declining swallow populations along Lake Ontario & Lake Erie. This project to Save Our Swallows is supported by a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. We are interested in learning more from farmers...Read More »
Survey: How can the provincial government support farmers?
Have your say in shaping farming policy in Ontario!
As the NFU-O begins meeting with newly elected MPPs, we want to hear what your priorities are as farmers and eaters in Ontario. What do you want to see from this newly elected government? What should OMAFRA’s priorities be? How can...Read More »
Milk Busting Myths and Slaying Demons
A Letter to Premier Elect Ford
June 8, 2018
Dear Premier Elect Ford,
Congratulations on your election. As you take office, we hope you’ll keep farmers in mind. As some of the biggest economic contributors in our province, the ones who feed your family, and the stewards of the environment, farmers play an integral role in the...Read More »
A Letter to MPP John Vanthof
June 8, 2018
Dear John Vanthof,
Congratulations on your re-election and the NDP’s role as official opposition party. The NFU-O is looking forward to a better working relationship with you and your fellow MPPs across Ontario to promote an agriculture system that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable and leads to...Read More »
A Letter to MPP Mike Schreiner
June 8, 2018
Dear Mike,
Congratulations on your historic win. In my conversations with you, you have proven to be a highly qualified MPP-elect who understands farming and food. While the NFU-O is a non-partisan organization and looks forward to meeting with MPPs across Ontario, I have come to respect you...Read More »
Op Ed: Water is a Necessary Election Issue
Each morning we start off our day with water: splashing it on our faces, washing our hands, or drinking a hot cup of coffee. Water is vital – it sustains our lives and allows us to grow food to feed our families and yours.
At a recent all candidates meeting...Read More »
Op Ed: Beyond the Election: Protecting Farmland for the Future
Farmland is vital to farmers and communities. It is vital to food production. It is vital to every single Ontario resident. Farmland is more than just a farmer’s field; it sustains us all by providing healthy food and clean water and should be afforded the respect it is owed.
As the...Read More »
Prison Farms to Re-open at Kingston
A nine year campaign to save the prison farm program at federal institutions paid off today where it counts — in the federal budget.
The national government will invest $4.3 million...Read More »
Local 344 - Member Newsletter
Read about what Grey County Local 344 has been up to in their 2018 Winter Newsletter!
...Read More »NFU-O responds to OMAFRA’s draft agricultural soil health and conservation strategy
The National Farmers Union-Ontario (NFU-O) is pleased to comment on the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs’ (OMAFRA’s) document, “NEW HORIZONS: Ontario’s Draft Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy.” We agree that healthy soil plays a vital role in regenerative, sustainable agriculture and commend OMAFRA for taking this...Read More »
Op Ed: Looking a gift card in the mouth: what Loblaw’s price-fixing is signaling about the future for Canadian farmers
According to the news, Canadians can look forward to a $25 Loblaw’s gift card in response to George Weston Ltd. and Loblaw Companies Ltd.’s admissions to participating in an industry-wide bread price-fixing arrangement. While we all like something free, we are being bought off cheaply, and many of us haven’t...Read More »
Support the NFU-O this holiday season!
If you’re looking for a gift for that hard-to-buy-for person in your life, consider supporting the NFU-O by buying them an NFU-O associate membership, or donating to the National Farmers Foundation on their behalf. Here are some reasons...Read More »
Save the Date! - Region 3 Convention & NFU-O AGM
Save the date for the Region 3 Convention & NFU-O AGM taking place on March 1-3, 2018 in Belleville, Ontario!
We have many exciting speakers in the works, and will post more information in the new year.
...Read More »
November 2017 Newsletter - Local 328
Take a look at what Lambton has planned for this month
...Read More »November 2017 Newsletter - Local 312
Take a look at what Middlesex County has planned for November.
...Read More »Marketing and Social Media Strategies for Local Food Literacy Campaigns
This report seeks to provide an overview of strategies deployed by four grantees – with financial support provided by the Government of Ontario, in partnership with the Greenbelt Fund – including the Ontario Apple Growers, Ontario Pork, Veal Farmers of Ontario, and National Farmers Union – Ontario, to increase awareness...Read More »
Media release: NFU-O Calls on Minister to take action to prevent vomitoxin losses
For immediate release – June 20, 2017
(Florence, ON) The National Farmers Union – Ontario has formally requested that Minister Leal require end users and receivers of corn to immediately provide secondary testing for vomitoxin at the farmers’ request.
“Vomitoxin has caused profound economic losses in Ontario this past year, and it...Read More »
Leveraging the power of consumer advocates and influencers to drive promotion of local food in Ontario
May 29, 2017 — Guelph, ON — The National Farmers Union-Ontario (NFU-O) is teaming up with local food advocates and influencers across the province to increase the NFU-O’s capacity for consumer outreach, as they launch the Ontario Local Food Advocate Influencer Network to drive peer-to-peer promotion of local...Read More »
NFU-O applauds the formation of a Prison Farm Advisory Panel
The National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU-O) applauds the formation of a Prison Farm Advisory Panel by Correctional Services Canada (CSC). The panel is a positive step toward the decision to re-open two prison farms in Kingston.
On May 11, 2017, CSC announced formation of “an advisory panel to provide advice...Read More »
Farmland is for Farmers: NFU-O Presentation to Ontario Farmland Trust
(Orillia, ON) Emery Huszka, NFU-O President, presented at the Ontario Farmland Trust forum on March 30 about the impact to farmland when farmers no longer own it.
“The NFU has been calling for farmland to remain in the hands of farmers since its inception. There are protections for farmland in other...Read More »
NFU-O asks OMAFRA and MNR for Answers and a Plan for Rabies Cases
In a letter to Minister Leal of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs and cc’d to Minster of Natural Resources, Kathryn McGarry, the NFU-O raised concerns regarding the recent rabies cases seen in Huron and Perth County.
“One infected animal is too many,” said Martin Boettcher, livestock farmer and NFU-O Board member....Read More »
NFU-O Calls for More Funding at International Joint Commission on Great Lakes
(Sarnia) On Wednesday, March 22, Don Ciparis and Emery Huszka of the National Farmers Union-Ontario brought agricultural concerns to the International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes meeting in Sarnia. They noted that farmers are willing and ready to make improvements to their farm operations. For example, some farmers are...Read More »
Emery Huszka Acclaimed National Farmers Union - Ontario President/NFU Region 3 Coordinator
Photo by Connie Tabbert
2017-2018 NFU-O Council members: Top row: Ayla Fenton, National Board member; Steve Laing, Marcelle Paulin, Paul Dejong, Councillors-at-large; Bottom row: Tony Straathof, National Board member, Emery Huszka, NFU-O President and National Board member; Martin Boettcher, Youth Advisor; Not pictured: Dodie Ellenbogen, Women’s Advisor
Emery...Read More »
NFU-O Celebrates Protection of Central Experimental Farm
(Guelph, ON) The National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU-O) congratulates the National Capital Commission (NCC) on its guidance of an open and democratic site selection process for the new Civic Campus of The Ottawa Hospital to a successful conclusion with the recommendation of Tunney’s Pasture federal lands.
Grassroots members...Read More »
NFU-O President addresses agricultural transportation issues to Ministries
(Guelph, ON) On October 31st, the National Farmers Union – Ontario and other stakeholders met with the Ministry of Transportation and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs to discuss rural transportation issues affecting farmers. On behalf of members, NFU-O President Emery Huszka raised important concerns about half load...Read More »
Op Ed: Equity or Equitable? – MPAC Assessments Highlight Farmland Challenges
by Emery Huszka, NFU-O President
Recently, farm families across Ontario have received MPAC notices reflecting dramatic changes in values. In some cases, assessment estimates are doubled from 2012. MPAC has captured what the National Farmers Union-Ontario (NFU-O) has been warning of for years. (See the NFU report Losing Our Grip:...Read More »
Media Release: NFU-O urges retention of Central Experimental Farm for agriculture
NFU-O farmers and board members pose with Losing Our Grip, which highlights the loss of farmland to urban development.
(Ottawa, ON) National Farmers Union-Ontario members recently attended the public consultation hosted by the National Capital Commission and urged the NCC to protect farmland and increase public agricultural research when formulating their...Read More »
Media Release: NFU-O Commends Climate Change Action Plan; Regulations are The Critical Piece
The National Farmers Union – Ontario commends the Ontario government for developing Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan. In contrast to previous environmental commitments that had inadequate accountability or concrete planning, this plan has specific, measurable actions and allocates the funding needed to support them. Now we have a tangible way for...Read More »
NFU-O meets with OMAFRA minister; sees common ground and room for improvement in ag policy
L to R: front row: Dan Kretschmar, Sarah Bakker, Katie Ward, Emery Huszka, Aric McBay; back row: Minister Jeff Leal, Martin Boettcher, Don Ciparis, Tony Straathof, Tim Tabbert
Often the business of running a farm happens at the kitchen table amongst family members. In that vein, the National Farmers Union-Ontario’s Board...Read More »
Letter to the Editor re. GM alfalfa
Dear Editor,
Forage Genetics International (FGI) has recently announced that it has sold genetically modified (GM) alfalfa seed to customers in Ontario. This GM alfalfa seed is stacked with two GM traits – glyphosate tolerance (i.e. Roundup Ready) and low-lignin. I am greatly concerned about the commercial release of this particular...Read More »
Op Ed: Bottling Canada’s Food Policies – What the debate over ketchup says about the future of farming
by Emery Huszka
I’ve been watching with interest the recent social media splash made over French’s ketchup. It highlights what the National Farmers Union (NFU) has been talking about for years – food sovereignty matters. Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about where their food comes from. As farmers, we’d be stupid...Read More »
Emery Huszka New National Farmers Union - Ontario President/NFU Region 3 Coordinator
Emery Huszka of Florence, Ontario was chosen as the new National Farmers Union – Ontario President, NFU National Board member, and NFU Region 3 Coordinator at the Annual General Meeting held March 5 in Kingston, Ontario
As membership continues to grow, the NFU-O is focused on sharing its core values with...Read More »
Saving the Central Experimental Farm and enabling Hospital Renewal
The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change (with responsibility for Parks Canada Agency and National Historic Sites of Canada)
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage (with responsibility for the National Capital Commission)
Dear Ministers McKenna, MacAulay, and...Read More »
Submission to the 2016 Ontario Pre-Budget Consultation
As an organization representing farmers across the province, both in rural and urban communities, the National Farmers Union-Ontario submits the following priorities for the 2016 Ontario Budget.
The NFU-O would like to contextualize these issues within the concern of rural depopulation. This depopulation results in wasted opportunities, financial burdens for...Read More »
Coloured Diesel for Food Production Not to Subsidize Road Maintenance says NFU-O
(Denfield) The National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU-O) would like to challenge the statement recently attributed to Dianne Saxe, Ontario’s new Environmental Commissioner (ECO), in which she called for an end to diesel fuel subsidies, including for farm fuel. Coloured diesel for agriculture is priced lower because it is taxed...Read More »
Renfrew County National Farmers Union cautiously happy about the prison farm news
WESTMEATH — The recent news article from the CBC stating Kingston’s cows are closer to coming home, is encouraging news to many supporters of the federal prison farm program that had been cancelled in Kingston, stated Tony Straathof, president of the Renfrew County National Farmers Union.
Five years ago, when the...Read More »
Groups call on Ontario Energy Board to do its job, review plan to sell Hydro One
Today, the Keep Hydro Public Coalition and the National Farmers Union-Ontario called on the Ontario Energy Board to fulfill its mandate and legislative responsibility by reviewing the Liberal government’s plan to sell Hydro One.
In a letter, submitted to Board Chair, Ms. Rosemarie Leclair, the groups urge the Board to exercise...Read More »
Protecting our Pollinators Protects our Farms, says NFU-O
(Guelph, ON) – The National Farmers Union in Ontario (NFU-O) welcomes today’s announcement by Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Honourable Glen Murray, that Ontario will introduce new regulations to reduce the overuse of neonicotinoid insecticides in agricultural practices in this province, effective July 1, 2015.
“Bees and other insects...Read More »
Recommendations to the Ontario Chicken Industry Consultation on Allocating Future Growth
Background
The National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU-O) is a strong supporter of supply management and orderly marketing, and it applauds the Chicken Farmers of Ontario for committing to public and stakeholder consultations on allocating future growth.
NFU members were instrumental in the development of our orderly marketing systems, including supply...Read More »
Precautionary approach, support for farmers vital to neonic strategy, says NFU
(DENFIELD) – The National Farmers Union in Ontario has submitted comments on the discussion paper Pollinator Health – A Proposal for Enhancing Pollinator Health and Reducing the Use of Neonicotinoid Pesticides in Ontario. The NFU supports the Ontario government’s initiative to restrict the use of neonicotinoid seed treatment and to...Read More »
Neonicotinoid Licensing System Encouraging, says NFU-O
For Immediate Release
(DENFIELD, ON) – The National Farmers Union in Ontario welcomes Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Hon. Jeff Leal’s recent announcement that Ontario intends to bring in measures to move away from the widespread, prophylactic use of neonicotinoid-based pesticides in agriculture. The introduction of a licensing system...Read More »
Kemptville College Should Continue Operating, says NFU-O
(DENFIELD) – The NFU-O decries the proposed closing of Kemptville Campus by the University of Guelph. The college has provided generations of eastern Ontario residents with a solid education in agriculture. Without Kemptville College it will be much more difficult for many young residents of the region to...Read More »
Press Release: Line 9 Reversal Approval Serves Enbridge’s Interests, not the Public’s, says NFU Ontario.
(Gananoque, ON) – When the National Energy Board approved Enbridge’s Line 9 project, which will reverse the flow and increase the pressure in the almost 40-year-old pipeline, it set conditions that protect the company’s financial interests while off-loading risks and costs onto the public, according to Rick Munroe of the...Read More »
Judge Orders Accreditation for National Farmers Union – Ontario
(Guelph, ON): On October 16, Justice Beaudoin released his decision on the judicial review of the Appeal Tribunal’s denial of accreditation for the National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU-O) for part of 2012 and all of 2013.
In the decision, Justice Beaudoin states, “There is a public duty to act in...Read More »
Farmers Seek Environmental Assessment of GM Alfalfa from Ontario Government - CBAN Media Release
July 25, 2013. Ottawa – Two farmers have formally asked the Ontario government to carry out an environmental assessment of genetically modified (GM) alfalfa before the seed is sold in the province. Today, they launched an application under Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights, the first ever request relating to the...Read More »
PRESS RELEASE Farmers Seek Environmental Assessment of GM Alfalfa from Ontario Government
July 25, 2013. Ottawa – Two farmers have formally asked the Ontario government to carry out an environmental assessment of genetically modified (GM) alfalfa before the seed is sold in the province. Today, they launched an application under Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights, the first ever request relating to the issue of GM crops.
“The federal government has...Read More »
Alarming Myths and Half Truths - Letter to the Editor of Farmers Forum
Alarming Myths and Half Truths
How does one deal with myths and half-truths?
Recently there has been a lot of talk and speculation regarding the future of the NFU-O. Much of this has come about by the musings of a few who seem to like to whisper in others’ ears...Read More »
NFU-O Refutes Tribunal Decision - Press Release
For Immediate Release
May 3, 2013
National Farmers Union – Ontario Refutes Tribunal Decision
The National Farmers Union – Ontario (NFU-O) refutes the recently released reasons issued by the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal. After waiting almost 120 days for the reasons, the NFU-O Council has spent the past...Read More »
June 2010 Statement on Renewable Energy and the Ontario Green Energy Act
National Farmers Union Region 3 (Ontario)
June 2010 Statement on Renewable Energy and the Ontario Green Energy Act
The National Farmers Union supports the production of energy from renewable, sustainable sourcesincluding solar, wind, and low-impact hydro to help conserve the remaining fossil fuel supply and tominimize the environmental impacts of energy...Read More »
COLLABORATION BETWEEN NFU-O AND NFU CONTINUES: JOINT RESPONSE TO TRIBUNAL DECISION
January 9, 2013
Saskatoon, SK and Lakeside, ON – The NFU-O/NFU is extremely disappointed with the OMAFRA Appeals Tribunal decision to dismiss the NFU-O’s application under the Farm Registration and Farm Organizations Funding (FRFOF) Act, 1993. The Rules of Procedure of the Tribunal state that reasons for a decision will be...Read More »