Index
Will Ontario's 2003 CAISP Payments Fall Short of Projections?
The data described above also begins to point to another question. Will 2003 CAISP payments fall short of projections? In the previous safety net framework agreement prior to the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF), the average annual combined federal-provincial expenditure in Ontario (excluding ad hoc and transition payments) was:Federal Agriculture Minister Mitchell Concedes CAISP Not Sufficient
Appearing before the House of Commons Agricultural Committee the first week of November, Federal Agriculture Minister Mitchell conceded that CAISP was not designed to deal with farm income crises. CAISP salesmen touted the program as the means of moving Canadian agriculture beyond crisis management when the APF/BRM was being introduced. Ad hoc programs would no longer be needed. But, in answering questions from the Committee, Minister Mitchell said "CAISP is a program that deals with the outcome (i.e., falling farm incomes) but occasionally, you will need to deal with the structural or other problem that's causing that outcome and that's why there's been programs for BSE."OMAF Introduces CAISP Web Site
In a laudable initiative to "make participating in the CAISP easier for producers," on November 15, OMAF launched a new "myCAlS.on.ca" web site designed to "enable producers or their agents to quickly and easily submit 2004-2005 applications forms on-line." CAISP administration will continue to mail out pre-completed CAISP forms for those participants who do not have access to the Internet or do not choose to file on-line. "myCais" access codes have already been mailed to approximately 26,000 producers in Ontario, and every Ontario farmer who submitted a T1163 tax form for 2003, will automatically receive a unique access code. The access codes are required in order for producers to set up a myCAIS user account. After the 2005 CAISP Deposit Option Notice (DON) is received in December 2004, a producer will be able to view and modify their own CAISP data on-line. If you have not received your myCAIS access code, please contact CAISP Client Services Department at 1-877-838-5144, fax 519-826-4334, email: cais@omaf.gov.on.ca.Distribution of "Wedge" Funding
It took almost a full year, but at the OFA Annual Meeting in Toronto on November 22, Minister Peters was finally able to announce details concerning the distribution of the "wedge" funding (called wedge because Federal funds are phased down over the 3 years of the bi-lateral wedge agreements). When Minister Peters signed the Agricultural Policy Framework Implementation Agreement in December 2003, it was recognized that, at least theoretically, it would take time for CAISP and Crop Insurance participation to expand and use all committed funding. This would leave residual funding available in the early years of the five-year agreement. The Federal and Provincial governments agreed to make this funding available through other means. Thus emerged the "wedge" funding, which was earmarked to provide support only for pre-existing companion programs (such as the Wildlife Damage program), which were to be phased out over the first three years of the five-year APF agreement. All "wedge" fund payments must be made before March 31, 2006, which marks the end of the first three years of the APF agreement. In Ontario, "wedge" funds total about $173 million, of which about $84 million has been designated to fund the Self-Directed Risk Management (SDRM) program (for those horticultural crops lacking adequate Crop Insurance programs), the Wildlife Damage program, the Plum Pox compensation program, and Research and Development funding directed by commodity sectors. The residual, approximately $89 million, will be distributed as a "top-up" payment to those producers who triggered a CAISP payment in either 2003 or 2004. Since about $44 million is to be distributed for each CA1SP year, the "top-up" equals about 12% of the total margin loss of all CAISP participants triggering a 2003 payment.Market Revenue Insurance Extension
OCPA is anticipating an announcement by Minister Peters in early December, confirming that the $94 million in the MR1 "pot" will be distributed shortly. We expect that MRI will be extended at 90% of support price and average yield for 2003 crops. This would mean no payments for 2003-crop corn or soybeans or wheat, as average market prices were above the MRI 90% support price. Small payments would be triggered for edible beans. We expect an initial payment in early February 2005, based on preliminary projections of 2004 crop payments. Details of payment rates are expected to be announced early in the new year. A final payment of the residual amount remaining in the MRI pot could be made in late 2005 when final market prices for the 2004 crops are known. Starkly contrasting reports were recently released concerning the financial health of agriculture in the U.S. and in Canada. Former Agriculture Secretary Veneman said on November 9 that U.S. net cash farm income reached a new record in 2003 of U.S.$68.5 billion. Net cash farm income in the U.S. is projected to reach U.S.$77.5 billion in 2004, far surpassing the previous 1997 record of $60.9 billion. U.S. farm cash receipts may reach a new record $233.4 billion in 2004, up $22 billion from 2003. $16 billion of that increase comes from the livestock industry. Compare that to recent data released by Statistics Canada. For the first time ever, Canadian net cash farm income in 2003 was a negative number! Canadian farmers lost Cdn.$312 million, $71 million of that was in Ontario. Quebec farmers showed a profit of $556 million. Canadian farm debt rose by 7.2% in 2003 on top of an 8.4% increase in farm debt in 2002. Canadian farm debt in 2003 rose to a new record $47.7 billion, $11.7 billion of it in Ontario, where debt rose by more than 5% from 2002. By comparison, U.S. farm equity reached a new record U.S.$1.22 trillion in 2003, up 3.4% from 2002. It does not seem likely that Canadian Federal Agriculture Minister Mitchell would have been able to say what U.S. Agriculture Secretary Veneman said: "This is a prosperity that is broadly shared across all of American agriculture, including virtually every crop and livestock subsector."
AGRICORP 2004 Individual Corn AFY Calculation
Ghost Bugs Could Help Cut Pesticide Use
According to this story, empty shells of bacterial cells or bacterial 'ghosts' could be filled with chemicals and would stick to leaves and stems, even after heavy rains. This procedure could be a new way to treat plants with pesticides and could eventually allow for less frequent pesticide spraying. The bacterial ghosts are comprised of cells of pectobacterium cypripedii, a species that has evolved to stick to plants. The cells are treated with a protein from a bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria. The virus protein creates a tunnel between the inner and outer cell membranes of the bacteria. This enables the cytoplasm and genetic information to be removed. Since the cell can only stick to the plant if the outside of the cell is not damaged, the chosen protein must leave only a neat hole, while preserving the rest of the cell.Mixed Results on Designer Corn in Illinois
An Illinois farmer by the name of Karl Hesterberg planted around 40% of his corn fields with three different varieties of YieldGard rootworm corn, a type of genetically enhanced corn designed by Monsanto to protect corn roots from rootworms and boost corn yields. Russ Dukeman, a sales manager for United Prairie of Tolono, sells seed, fertilizer and other agricultural products. Depending on how much rootworm pressure there was in the field, the performance was variable. The Illinois farmer was disappointed after reading reports from seed companies and the University of Illinois about its good results, its protection and better yields. Scott Davis, strategic development manager for Trisler Seed Farms of Fairmount states that it is usually due to disease that corn lodges or goes down early. With YieldGard rootworm corn, the plants may lodge or lean over, but the plant is still healthy and can still be combined. Golden Harvest Seed Company agronomist Brad Rademacher, inspected fields across East Central Illinois and met with many puzzled producers. The seed company would not say the technology failed, but it did not meet the expectation of many producers. There was more feeding than was expected and this goes to show that the corn rootworm is by far the biggest pest we face. A recent article by University of Illinois entomologist Kevin Steffey and fellow U.I. entomologist Mike Gray says they noticed the YieldGard rootworm corn stumbled in their plots at the University's Urbana test site. However, it was not just the YieldGard rootworm corn that stumbled. Several products were miserable this year, and when all is said and done, YieldGard is the most consistent product based on rootworm ratings.Delivering Enhanced Value to Processors and Growers
On September 22, 2004, Monsanto announced that Casco Inc., which is Canada's principal producer and supplier of corn-refined starches, sweeteners, oil and feed products, was planning to pay a premium for grain produced from corn hybrids which have earned the Processor Preferred brand designation. This brand was launched at Canada's Outdoor farm show this fall and is designed to deliver grain with compositional value to processors and to unlock value for growers. Monsanto has invested heavily in the research required to identify and develop Processor Preferred products. This is the first of many opportunities to further enhance the value of corn and change the way this crop is marketed. Casco Commodity Purchasing Manager Shelley Wybo indicated that the company intends to pay a 10 cent per bushel premium for a one month supply of grain from select Dekalb® and Pride® Seeds hybrids that have been distinguished Processor Preferred. Casco is very interested in finding ways of making their plants more efficient and their testing of Processor Preferred corn hybrids has indicated positive results. In 2003, Casco ran a similar small scale test of specific Dekalb hybrids that produce higher levels of extractable starch; a key component in Casco sweetener production. This test run showed evidence of increased yield of extractable starch per unit of corn. Using a more uniform corn supply requires fewer production process adjustments than using regular feedstock as a corn source. Another key lesson from this test run proved that the supply chain can effectively segregate corn hybrids. More testing will be done in February to further determine the value Processor Preferred grain provides. Those results will provide insight on how Casco can structure programs in the future. South West Ag Partners, Cargill AgHorizons, Hensall District Co-op and Hutton Farm Supplies will work with growers to contract production for the Casco program. In the short term, Monsanto's goal is to breed hybrids that provide greater than 3% highly fermentable or extractable starch over the industry average. In the longer term, the company intends to breed hybrids that provide greater than 8% over the industry average. In the future, Monsanto hopes to further increase hybrid end-use performance by combining biotechnology and their knowledge of genomics to genetically enhance corn hybrids that will provide even more value to end users. The Ontario Corn Producers' Association has been supportive of this initiative since its inception. The OCPA will continue to drive projects which put added value into our members' pockets. These programs have the potential to change a traditionally commodity-based industry and consequently, the future of corn marketing in Ontario. There are several seed companies which are now working together to bring new output traits to growers under the Processor Preferred brand. A strategic goal within the corn industry in Ontario is to foster the value-added use of corn through industrial processing, by working with the processors. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced new federal funding in a $36.7 million, five-year package in November. This represents Ontario's share which will be administrated by the Agricultural Adaptation Council. The ACAAF (Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food) Program is the successor to the Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development (CARD) program, and will continue CARD's innovative and cooperative approach to funding projects at the national, multi-regional and regional level. The ACAAF Program is expected to be launched in Ontario later this year, after integrating the program guidelines from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and a consultation session scheduled to take place in early December. More information can be found on websites at Agricultural Adaptation Council, www.adaptcouncil.org. or Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, www. asr. sc.ca/acaaf. The Ontario Corn Producers' Association (OCPA) is pleased to welcome Cheryl Kuiper to the OCPA Team as the Database Management Clerk. Cheryl will be responsible for managing the producer records, sales records and check-off information. Cheryl is not a new face around OCPA. She has worked with OCPA on a seasonal basis for the past six years in assisting with the Corn Advance Payment Program. Kristen Quealey will be leaving OCPA this month. We extend our best wishes to Kristen as she pursues new opportunities.Plant Breeder of the Year Award
The 2004 recipient of the Canadian Plant Breeding & Genetics Award is Vladimir Puskaric, retired Research Senior Scientist with Pioneer Hi-Bred Production, Ltd. This award, co-sponsored by the Canadian Seed Trade Association and Germination magazine, recognizes the outstanding contribution of a Canadian researcher to the advancement of plant agriculture. Puskaric's tremendous contribution to corn improvement in Canada makes him a deserving recipient of the award. He devoted over 30 years at the Research Centre in Woodstock, Ontario to advancing corn's adaptation to the temperate and short-season environments that face Canadian farmers. Hailing from the Institute for Genetics and Plant Breeding in Yugoslavia (Croatia), Puskaric focused on developing corn hybrids that were earlier maturing, better adapted to a short season and had stable performance to deliver economic returns to farmers. By focusing on traits such as early flowering and fast dry-down, Puskaric created 48 hybrids in Canada and the United States that established the measure of stalk quality and grain density for the last 20 years. Several of these hybrids are still the standards against which many new varieties are compared.
Seldon
Parker
One of the five founding members of the Ontario Corn Producers'
Association, Seldon Parker, passed away in November. He was very active in trying
to convince farmers and politicians that an "association of corn growers" had
potential merit. Seldon served on the interim Board of Directors in 1982, the
Board of Directors from the inception of the organization in 1983 to 1990 and
as a delegate from 1991 to 1994. With a keen interest in computers and information
technology, Seldon was instrumental in encouraging OCPA to move forward, not
only in keeping the office computer system up-to-date, but in getting OCPA Directors
set up with computers and using email as a means of communication. OCPA extends
their sympathies to Seldon's family.
Jim Whitelaw
As a former Marketing Manager with the Ontario
Wheat Producers' Marketing Board for approximately 26 years, Jim Whitelaw will
be known to many producers who contracted wheat sales through him. Jim passed
away suddenly in November. OCPA extends their sympathies to Jim's family. Prices
The founding committee for OCPA received Certificates of Appreciation during
the 1993 OCPA banquet.
(left to right) Max Ricker, Doug Brunton, Seldon Parker, John Cunningham and Martin Schneckenburger
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