Chris Josipovic is planning to work on his grandparents farm tomorrow bailing hay, he and his grandparents will probably bail 2000 to 3000 bails which will be enough to feed all of their animals for the season. His grandparents farm is located on the mountain and is about 30 arcs but they farm about 100 arcs. Their family farm consists of mostly livestock: cattle, sheep, and pigs. Chris said, "the farm feeds the entire family on both sides which is about twenty people, giving every member stake a few times a week." It is really nice to met farmers and especially farms in our area because these are the people that allow for local health produce to be available at our amazing farmers markets. The GPO wants to make sure that Ontarians are healthy and are eat good quality local produce. The GPO wants to end one-size-fits regulations for family farms and local food processors; implements smart regulations that recognize the differences in operations, Eliminate tax penalties and reduce zoning restrictions on facilitate local, on-farm food enterprises and innovative sources of farm income, and improve income stabilization programs so they are more accessible for family farms, cover a wider range of products and don't penalize farmers who experience bad years. These are some of the ways the GPO wants to promote local farms and provide fresh local produce to Ontarians.
Chris commented on the profitability of farms saying, "I'd love to farm but economically it doesn't make sense especially if I wanted to start my own farm because of the necessary start up capital. " This is a problem across Ontario. In Ontario we have less then 7000 farmers under the age of 35, too many of our youth are not going into farming because it just doesn't make finical sense. The GPO wants to make farming profitable so our youth want to farm and we can provide healthy food to all Ontarians. The GPO would do this by Establishing an Ontario Food and Farming policy Council to coordinate planning across ministries and consult diverse stakeholders on programs, regulations and legislation, reward farmers for steward ship practices that provide environmental and community benefits such as clean water, habitat preservation and carbon storage, and invest in rural infrastructure, research and innovation, plant-based manufacturing products, distribution hubs, farmer co-op, organic and specialty crops to support farm incomes. The GPO wants to ensure that citizens of Niagara West-Glanbrook continue to farm our beautiful land and can do it in a way that is finically and environmentally responsible. The GPO is ready to stand up at Queens Park and ask the tough questions so that we can address issues around farming and getting farming back on track.
Together, we can be the change we want to see.
It's time, Niagara. Vote Green.
