COVID-19 weighs heavily in farm country

 By MPP Toby Barrett

To The Haldimand Press

Soil temperatures, soil conditions, weather forecasts, commodity markets, availability of labour, and the restrictions of COVID-19 weigh heavily this spring in farm country.

COVID-19 is life changing for all and certainly for the business of farming. Ernie Hardeman, Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and I, as Parliamentary Assistant, have been actively engaging stakeholders. It’s been one of the busiest times in my recent memory – but helping keep Ontario fed and functioning is worth the long days and nights.

COVID-19 has caused a significant disruption to our food supply chain particularly with milk, cattle, and hogs.

To set the stage, most understand where food comes from, but not all: a constituent asked why not donate surplus hogs to food banks. Although thoughtful, food banks can’t accept live hogs. They require processing, and processing capacity is down.

Accordingly, a recently-announced federal package provides money for beef and pork producers for animals they can’t sell; a $50-million fund to purchase and deliver food to food banks; and a dairy industry credit program – as part of a $252 million agriculture and food industry aid package. 

Prime Minister Trudeau also allotted $77 million to help keep food processing workers safe using protective equipment and physical distancing strategies.

An abridged list of provincial efforts