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Groups want permanent RMP -
2010-01-28
The 2009 crop will be the last one covered under the program that offsets market
Ontario Farmer
Tue Nov 17 2009
Page: B10
Section: News
Byline: BY PATRICK GALLAGHER, ONTARIO FARMER
The Ontario Risk Management Program is set to expire after a three-year pilot run and grains and oilseeds producers are pushing to have it established as a permanent safety net plan.
The program, which was put in play by the Ontario government in 2007, offsets losses caused by low commodity prices by triggering payments when prices for grains and oilseeds fall below a specific support level that is based on a cost of production formula.
But the 2009 crop is the last one to be covered by the RMP program and farmers want it p>"It's an important program for us and we want it as a permanent program," said Leo Guilbeault, the chairman of the Ontario Grains and Oilseeds Safety Net Committee. "It provides some stability and helps us plan for the future."
Guilbeault said the plan will pay corn growers who are covered at the 100 per cent level this year. The RMP pre-harvest payments will start to be mailed out on Nov. 23 and will pay corn farmers 14 cents a bushels.
He called the plan a critical pillar for grains and oilseed farmers who want to avoid lurching from crisis to crisis when commodity prices fall below the cost of production.
The program has only been funded to the 40 per cent level by the Ontario government with Ottawa opting out of the program. The federal government has shown no desire to put money into the RMP and that remains a sore point with a lot of producers.
The program has not been deemed a perfect solution to safety net concerns either by a lot of farmers. Critics of the program say the cost of production formula is not reactive to fast rising input costs, especially this year when they soared to new heights.
But Guilbeault said it's a good program and farmers will continue to lobby both levels of governments to make the program permanent and funded at the 100 per cent level.
However the McGuinty government is facing a $25 billion deficit and looking for ways to trim government spending. Getting a pilot project renewed could prove a difficult stretch.
"We realize the economic pressure the province is under and if there are cuts across the board we want to make sure agriculture is not cut anymore than other departments," said Guilbeault.
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