Rick Neilson
In 2006, agriculture brought $13.5 million into the Rainy River District. And with every on-farm job supporting one-three jobs in the wider economy, the impact is multiplied.
But just how important is agriculture to the area?
That was the question on the minds of the 11 district farmers who formed the Agri-Economic Impact Study focus group at the Emo Inn on Saturday, May 2.
The event was hosted by Don Murray, B.A., M.Sc., and Hubert Paulmer, M.Sc. (Ag), MBA, GDIP, from Don Cummings and Associates in Guelph, Ont.—the firm that’s been contracted to conduct an ag impact study in the Northern Ontario districts of Rainy River, Kenora, Thunder Bay, and Cochrane.
When this study is complete, the whole province will have had an ag impact study.
The Northern Ontario Development Network (NODN) and the federations of agriculture for the four areas commissioned the study.
Statistics Canada census data from 2006 reveals that, as in the rest of the country, Rainy River District farms are decreasing in number while the size of the farms is increasing.
Other information gleaned from the census data reveals that 2.4 percent of residents in our district are employed as farmers, and that in 1996, 36 percent of them had off-farm income while that number had climbed to 62 percent by 2006.
Frank Scarcello, agricultural study co-ordinator with NODN, has indicated the next step for the study is the gathering of names of businesses that sell products and services to farm businesses, or businesses that buy their products and services.
These businesses will be part of a telephone survey, with the data gathered to be used by the consultant to measure the indirect benefits of the agricultural sector.
“We want to have a complete list, and don’t want to miss any businesses,” said Scarcello.
“I am sure, off the top of their heads, farmers can name many of them, but it’s a good idea to look at their accounts payable for business names,” he suggested.
Linda Armstrong, member services rep with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, is co-ordinating efforts to get as complete a list as possible.
She has copies of the forms to list the suppliers, phone numbers, and the contact names, and would like to encourage as many farmers as possible to become involved in the study.
“There will always be duplicates, but there will also be one or two that no one else has listed,” she noted. “We need to know where district farm businesses spend, and make, their money, whether it is within 100 miles or in Minnesota or Manitoba.”
Part of the five-hour session on May 2 was dedicated to identifying issues particular to agriculture in Rainy River District. These included:
•the need to get the abattoir built;
•the need for a full-time veterinary;
•research into using bluestem grass as a biofuel;
•the need for a pelletizing plant;
•the disadvantage caused by not being able to ship animals and goods to and from Manitoba through the U.S.;
•satellite Internet coverage; and
•the need for an ag innovation centre and opportunities in agri-tourism.
The ag impact study will give the district a measure of the current contribution of agriculture to the economy, as well as providing a comparison for the future.
It will be completed in time for Murray and Paulmer to present their findings to members of the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture at its annual meeting scheduled for Nov. 7.
For a copy of the form or for more information on the study, contact Armstrong at 852-3645 or via e-mail at Linda@jam21.net
