A record crowd attended the OCPA’s 15th anniversary convention, held in London March 3. Up to 450 people were present for part or all of the program, drawn by the quality of the speakers and exhibits.

Brian Doidge of Ridgetown College started the program with market information and projections. He said the futures market may strengthen further, for both old and new crop corn, but that the price basis on old crop may be near its peak.

Art Schaafsma, also of Ridgetown College, followed with a discussion of the market potential for high-quality milling-grade corn and the program he is initiating (funded in part by OCPA) to help Ontario growers take advantage of this opportunity.

Peter Clark of Ottawa’s Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates gave a detailed overview of developing trade issues. Peter cautioned corn farmers that they should be on alert for the potential increased use of non-tariff barriers to international trade. Peter was the OCPA trade council in our countervailing duty action against the U.S. in the late 1980s.

Murray McLaughlin, president of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies (OAFT), closed the morning session with an overview of ag biotech issues.

The noon luncheon speaker was John McCallum, senior vice-president and chief economist of the Royal Bank of Canada. He presented a very positive perspective of economic prospects for Canada, but noted that there is the potential for problems such as political uncertainty in Quebec, and the spread of Asian financial difficulties.

The final afternoon speaker was Peter Thomison, extension agronomist at Ohio State University, who discussed premium markets for quality corn. His talk featured high oil corn, which is the subject of much interest within the U.S. Corn Belt, primarily due to the activities of Dupont and Pioneer and their joint Optimum Quality initiative. High oil (six per cent oil, or more) corn is enjoying some price premiums in U.S. markets (and is attractive for on-farm feeding) but is generally associated with a yield depression of up to 14 per cent.

The highlight of the evening banquet was Mike Duffy of CTV’s Sunday Edition, who talked about a lot of federal political issues and personalities. Mike was appreciated for his ability to make fun of politicians, without belittling them.

The 1998 annual meeting took place in London March 4. A full copy of OCPA committee reports presented at that time will be sent to any member upon request. These reports are also reproduced on the OCPA web site (www.ontariocorn.org).

The auditor’s report of OCPA operations during the 1996/97 fiscal year was approved by delegates to the annual meeting. A portion of this report is reproduced elsewhere in this issue. A full report will be sent to any member upon request.

Delegates considered 14 resolutions. Nine succeeded. Resolutions were approved which:

• called for the continuation of the Ontario market revenue insurance program,
• asked that Ontario receive a fairer share of federal spending on farm safety net programs,
• asked that compensation for wildlife damage to crops be funded by some public program other than producer-financed crop insurance,
• asked for more standardization on procedures used to sample grain at elevators and end-user delivery locations,
• asked for the reintroduction of block averaging for farm income tax, and reduced capital gains taxation,
• supported an amendment to the OCPA constitution so that if directors are prevented from planting a corn crop in a given year, they may be allowed to continue to serve as a director (for a one-year period only, and at the discretion of the board of directors),
• asked for a 50 cents/unit refundable levy on all seed corn sales, for the support of corn research,
• supported the creation of an OCPA subsidiary corporation to support corn research (see discussion in March newsletter), and
• asked that OCPA retain access to the present postage rate schedule for the Ontario Corn Producer magazine (more on this later).

Resolutions were defeated which asked for reduced crop insurance premiums for larger farmers, asked OCPA to refrain from involvement in the policies of other commodity groups, and asked that all corn farmers attending the OCPA annual and semi-annual meetings be allowed to vote. (The present policy allows non-delegates to speak, but not to move, second motions or vote. This policy exists to ensure balanced representation from all geographical areas with provincial corn production, regardless of the meeting location.) A resolution was tabled asking that all OCPA operations be funded by a levy on corn seed sales.

Bob Down (Huron County), Anna Bragg (Durham Region) and Dennis Jack (Kent County) were re-elected president, first vice-president, and second vice-president, respectively, at a meeting of the new board of directors, immediately after the annual meeting. Lloyd Crowe (Prince Edward County) was elected treasurer, replacing Bill Weatherston (Oxford County) who continues to recover from major heart surgery. Jim Johnson (Lambton County) continues to serve as past-president on the OCPA executive.

The stand-off continues on the introduction of a new corn seed research levy to support public corn research in Ontario, with a few seed companies continuing to express major opposition...for reasons appearing to be based on precedence and control. The corn committee of the Canadian Seed Trade Association has, in turn, recommended four "alternatives" for raising money to support corn research. These are:

• Double the existing checkoff on commercial corn sales. This would require a legislative amendment and would retain the existing imbalance by which only about 55-60 per cent of the Ontario corn crop is covered, (i.e. - not all corn grown contributes equitably).
• Adding a charge for market revenue insurance. This would also need a regulatory or legislative change, and would reintroduce the administrative problems which were eliminated when "up-front" premium costs were eliminated for this program.
• Adding a fee to the magazine subscription. This would exacerbate problems already troubling the magazine (see item later) and would mean each member would make the same contribution to research support, regardless of crop size.
• Voluntary contributions. This is essentially a door-to-door sales approach, which would incur high costs to net significant contributions to research.

In the view of OCPA directors and most members none of these options make nearly as much sense as a simple 50 cent addition to the price of a bag of seed. This would mean one cheque sent by each seed company, each year, to a trustee administering the fund. Refund requests – expected to be few in number – would be handled directly by OCPA.

Fortunately, we are starting to see signs that an increasing number of seed companies understand the merit of the OCPA proposal. Attempts by hard-liners within the Canadian Seed Trade Association to retain a united front are weakening.

OCPA is delighted by Cargill’s announcement at the OCPA annual banquet to provide $60,000 in new funding to support public corn research in Ontario. While details of projects to be supported remain to be worked out, it is understood that the funds will be used to support one of the priority areas identified by the OCPA Research and Technology Committee. The three-year, $60,000 commitment represents an amount at least equivalent to 50 cents/bag on seed corn sales by that company. However, the Cargill contribution is not linked to the corn seed research levy proposal.

Members of the Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council continue to struggle to find a common Ontario position on safety net program needs. All groups want a more equitable allocation of federal safety net funds. It is unjust for Ontario to receive only about 15 per cent of federal funding while accounting for about 22-24 per cent of Canadian output of non-supply-managed commodities. What’s worse, the Ontario share has declined in recent years, while the bulk of federal funds continue to go west, especially to Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

However, consensus has proven more difficult on the issue of self-directed risk management (SDRM) for horticulture. Grain and oilseed producers have agreed SDRM support should be provided for producers of edible horticulture crops grown outdoors, for which no crop insurance exists or for which participation is very low. The support level should be at about the same level as for major crop insured crops (about four per cent government support relative to insured value). Some horticultural groups are insisting on six per cent support (to match government contributions already provided through NISA) and inclusion of crops where participation in crop insurance is already high (e.g. several hundred farmers and/or over 50 per cent of acreage enroled in crop insurance). In addition, the pilot SDRM program already covers some horticulture crops grown indoors (such as greenhouse vegetables) and the request is being made that these crops get six per cent SDRM coverage, even though the risk of weather-related damage isn’t much different from other indoor farm operations.

Finally, grain and oilseed producer groups have argued that safety net support should be related to need, and especially to the amount of safety net support provided for competing farmers in adjacent states and provinces. This level of support is generally high, (especially in the U.S.) for grain crops, and low for red meat production. No data are available, to our knowledge, on safety net programs for U.S. horticultural producers, though it is our understanding that horticultural safety net support programs are very limited in that country.

Another significant issue involves the use of a small portion of safety net funds to support research and development. Three million dollars per year has been provided within the current Canada-Ontario safety net agreement for support of research and development. This money has permitted the initiation of a myriad of research activities, one being the creation of Ontario Agri-Food Technologies to support and promote agricultural biotechnology in Ontario. It is the view of OCPA directors that this program - which represents only about 1.5 per cent of total safety net support in Ontario - should continue as a priority. Unfortunately, this view is not shared by many other OACC members.

One new program being examined for Ontario is the possible introduction of a disaster relief support program - perhaps somewhat patterned after the Farm Income Disaster program in Alberta, but at a lower (less expensive) coverage level. As explained in the March newsletter, this would be designed to provide some low level of assistance, if everything goes wrong. The cost of this remains unknown; analyses are continuing. And the source of funds for such a program is also unknown, though it could come at the expense of a lower government contribution level for NISA accounts.

We expressed concern in an earlier newsletter about the low rates being paid by financial institutions on Fund 1 NISA accounts. Most are paying four per cent or less on these accounts, which is generally lower thanthe 90 per cent of 90-day-Treasury-Bill-rate which was paid when NISA funds were held by the Government of Canada.

OCPA received notice in mid-February from Heritage Canada that it intends to remove the special postal rate structure which applies to the Ontario Corn Producer and many other similar magazines, effective March 31. This change could cost OCPA about $50,000 in additional publication costs per year, and seriously impair efforts by the organization to make the magazine self-supporting.

The presentation at the OCPAannual convention by Claire Franklin, executive director of PMRA has left us about as confused as before about the agency. Franklin insists the PMRA is progressing as planned, that fees are coming in as targeted, and that the efficiency of the registration process has improved substantially. Yet we understand that the PMRA fee revenue for 1997/98 was about $3-4 million below budget, and that PMRA is desperately seeking additional funds from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (and perhaps other departments) to make up the difference.

While OCPA has no serious complaints about the current state of new corn pesticide registrations in Canada, we’re told that the situation is no better than before - and maybe even worse - for producers of some other crops, especially horticultural crops.

At the OCPA convention, Ron Cameron, generally considered one of Canada’s most knowledgeable farmers on pesticide regulatory issues, expressed major frustration over the glacial speed with which PMRA is moving to harmonize its regulatory processes (or at least take advantage of regulatory evaluation processes) in other countries. This would accelerate the speed of new product registration in Canada, and reduce the regulatory cost.

Comments made by Franklin seem to support Cameron’s contention. Franklin indicated that many of the harmonization steps will not occur until the year 2000 or later...at least 12 years after the commitment for harmonization was made in the 1988 Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

Another impediment to the cost effectiveness of the Canadian process is the continuing insistence on "efficacy" data, especially for minor-use products. Such data are not required to be reviewed for pesticide registration in the U.S. (where decisions are based solely on estimates of risk), but they must be in Canada, and the result can be years of delay. The Crop Protection Institute of Canada has calculated that the additional cost for data required to register a new pesticide in Canada, compared to the cost in the U.S, can be more than $1 million. Small wonder that minor use registrations occur slowly in this country.

Finally, Cameron noted that new rules in the U.S. on pesticide residue limits for older products (which are generally used here much more so than in the U.S. where newer products are available) will make the situation worse by limiting our ability to export Canadian crop products there.

Canada’s Health Minister Alan Rock has initiated a third-party review of the entire PMRA operation. Results, which should be available in June, are awaited anxiously.

Several OCPA directors and staffers had the opportunity to meet with Casco officials in London in February. Among the items discussed was delays which have been widely reported to exist in corn delivery to the Casco plant at London.

Casco officials acknowledged the problem. They said it was caused largely by recent expansions in plant capacity, but reported that steps are being taken to address the situation in the near term. Of special note to farmers, the Casco London location receives corn 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are generally no lineups for corn delivered at off hours. However, if you attempt to deliver at 11 A.M. on a week day, waiting is almost inevitable.

Among the many changes being made the by OMAFRA in its advisory services (extension), is a much enhanced use of the Internet. Many county/regional offices now have their own web pages, and a growing amount of information is available on web pages managed at the provincial level. We congratulate OMAFRA on this improvement. Incidentally, use of the Internet continues to grow rapidly in rural Ontario. A show of hands at the OCPA annual meeting revealed that about one-quarter to one-third of the delegates were "wired," up substantially from results of a year ago.

OCPA is pleased that the Governments of Canada and Ontario are providing special assistance to farmers affected by the January ice storm in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

We are saddened that the federal government has chosen to cover 90 per cent of the bill for full-time farmers, but only 50 per cent for part-time farmers (the latter includes full-time farmers whose spouses make more money via off-farm employment). The federal government states that it is forced to do so by Canadian law, but we don’t buy this rationale. If 50 per cent support can be provided for part-timers through an order-in-council, so can 90 per cent.

For several years the Ontario Corn Committee has conducted tests to assess the relative susceptibility of corn hybrids to ear mold. This has been funded by OMAFRA, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the Ontario Pork Producers’ Marketing Board and fees paid by corn seed companies (OCPA research funds have been spent on more basic efforts designed to make corn mycotoxin-free.) However, AAFC is reducing its funding for this effort, and corn seed companies have become increasingly unwilling to foot much or any of the cost for such testing – and indeed, have been reluctant to submit hybrids for this purpose. One reason stated is that ear mold resistance is considered to be a low priority for farmers in hybrid selection.