AGRICULTURE
- STILL IMPORTANT TO ONTARIO'S ECONOMY
by David Morris

Marc Roszell, OCPA Director for Kent County, believes that farmers are going to continue to face challenging times for years to come, despite the recent signs of progress in the WTO negotiations. "I doubt that we are ever going to have a truly level playing field," he says. "If we do, it's going to be a long time in coming. Even then, it's not likely that we will see much improvement in grain prices. There is not going to be a magic bullet for agriculture, so we in Ontario are going to have to continue on roughly as we have been," says Roszell.
Marc does not believe that switching into specialty crops will be the answer for most Ontario producers. "These high value crops are not something everyone can grow," he points out. "The markets for them are limited. They are expensive to grow and risky. They can really mess up your soil when you have to harvest them in wet weather. You have to have the right soil type. In our own case, for example, we used to grow burley tobacco, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas and sweet corn. We do not grow any of them any more. Burley tobacco is gone from Ontario altogether. The vegetable acreage has been cut way back and is now concentrated on land that is not as heavy as ours. They are being grown on soils that can tolerate planting and mechanical harvesting by the calendar almost regardless of weather conditions. So, the majority of us, who are not blessed with the perfect soil, are going to have to continue growing the traditional field crops," he explained.
Roszell believes that OCPA must continue to put a high priority on initiatives to obtain a satisfactory package of safety net programs. "Farmers deserve and need help from the government," says Marc. "However, I am sceptical that we will ever get as much support as we need. Everyone, including our governments, are having trouble making ends meet these days. I am afraid that agriculture is too low on the government's lists of priorities, compared to the big budget items like health care and education. So that means, we are going to have to do a better job of lobbying, and work even more closely with other commodity groups, so we are all delivering the same message. We need to go after both the federal and provincial governments. There is no reason why we should be putting the heat on only the federal government. Ontario could increase it's share too. Agriculture is still pretty important to the economy of this province," says Roszell.
For Marc, an important part of more effective lobbying is an improved understanding of the political process. "Most people have little experience with the political process, so misconceptions dominate. When I was active in the Kent Federation of Agriculture, I became good friends with Pat Hoy, (currently the MPP for Chatham-Kent-Essex). Helping him with his campaigns has given me just enough involvement with politics to know what I don't know. Farmers complain that politicians do not understand agriculture, and while there are exceptions, there is a lot of truth to that. For me, a bigger concern is that farmers do not understand politics and politicians. That is a big part of the problem we have when it comes to getting them to listen to us," says Roszell.
Marc also believes that OCPA needs to continue its support for production research. "I think it is going to be up to us, as producers, to find ways to cut our costs of production dramatically. If we can't make corn production more profitable, there won't be a corn crop in Ontario - and we need more crops in our rotations, not fewer. Already some of my neighbours have quit growing corn on their heavier ground. They say that it is just too expensive a crop to grow for the kinds of yields they can get. I do not know what the answer is. No farm operation is so good that it cannot be improved, but getting the kind of savings we need is beyond what individual farmers can achieve. This is going to require us to really think outside the box. OCPA has initiated and supported a lot of important research on innovative ideas over the years. We have to continue to do that to the extent that our finances allow. It will be Marc Roszell challenging because this year's smaller crop will mean lower revenues," he explained.
Roszell is OCPA's newest Director, having joined the Board at the Annual Meeting this past March. He operates a 400 acre cash-crop farm in Kent County just west of Chatham. His principle crops are seed corn, IP soybeans, seed soybeans, winter wheat and grain corn. He also does custom planting and harvesting. "I'm not a big corn grower," he says. "Because of the isolation distances required in growing seed corn, I am really limited in how much commercial corn I can grow and where I can grow it."
Because of his relatively small scale of operation, Marc was hesitant to let his name stand for OCPA Director. "Dennis Jack, our former Director and a past President of OCPA encouraged me to run, but I was concerned that I was not a big enough corn grower. But now, I am glad I said yes. Small growers need to have a voice at the table too, and I am really enjoying the challenge. I think that we have a really good crew on the Board, and a great staff. However, we have some big challenges ahead of us, not the least of which is going to be the merger with the wheat and soybean boards. The three organizations have very different ways of doing things and very different personalities. It is going to take a lot of work, and give and take, to bring us together and figure out how the new organization should operate. I am all in favour of the merger but I am not sure that it will save as much money or have as much political clout as some people are imagining. I would caution growers to have realistic expectations of what it will accomplish," he warned.
Marc and his wife, Margaret, have three children. One of their daughters is a physician; their other daughter is a statistician; and their son has embarked on a career in broadcast journalism.