For John Beardsley, crops consultant for Exeter Produce, wearing a mask became routine in the summer of 2020.

If you had asked me a year ago what might be in my next AGM report, a global pandemic and all the related fallout for both our sector and the broader world would not have been on my list. 

To say 2020 was a year unlike any other is an understatement. The COVID-19 pandemic threw extraordinary obstacles our way, but our entire industry rose to the occasion to ensure store shelves stayed stocked and Canadians could count on the fresh produce they know and love. Each one of us faced our own individual obstacles in our respective businesses, and for those of us involved with farm organizations, the pandemic added never-before-seen challenges to our regular workloads. 

Needless to say, it was a busy year for the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) on many fronts, with pandemic-related issues front and centre most of the year. You’ll find greater detail on all of our activities in the reports by the section chairs and the staff, so I will just touch on some of the highlights. 

Labour has always been a key file for OFVGA, but never like it was this past year. When the Canadian border closed in March, it served as a quick and stark reminder of just how much we all depend on the temporary seasonal workers who come to work on our farms every year. Our organization did a tremendous amount of work on our own and in tandem with partners such as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Farm & Food Care Ontario and Canadian Horticultural Council to convince government to let them come to Canada for this past growing season. 

OFVGA also played a key role in getting resources and information out to member organizations to support employers in protecting their workers and adapting to many new restrictions and regulations put in place to keep people safe. 

We worked with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to establish worker accommodation guidelines and to develop the prevention and control strategy for farm workers that was announced by Minister Ernie Hardeman in November. We’re also still actively participating in the federal government’s consultation around housing and developing a formal response on that issue. 

But it wasn’t just about labour. It was also an extremely active year for safety nets as OFVGA began advocating in April for special programming to support growers during the pandemic. A 50 per cent increase to the provincial Self-Directed Risk Management (SDRM) program was subsequently announced, and redesign work on the program with OMAFRA that started before COVID-19 remains ongoing. 

We were also successful in having labour added as an insurable peril under existing crop insurance plans for the 2020 season. The provincial and federal governments came to the table with cost-share funding for growers to help with a broad range of additional costs related to protecting workers, from PPE, transportation and quarantine to housing improvements and measures to separate workers in the workplace. 

We appreciate the support we’ve received from both levels of government this past year with respect to programming and other resources, and their willingness to work with us through this past year. 

Those of you who attended the AGM last year may remember a resolution that was passed for OFVGA staff to work in a supportive capacity with Fresh Vegetable Growers of Ontario to help that organization build its outreach capacity and explore new opportunities. Work on that issue was set aside due to the pandemic, but we hope to return to it this year. 

Another non-pandemic issue that we’ll be watching very closely in 2021 is retailer fees. Last summer major retailers announced they were increasing fees to their suppliers, which is extremely concerning in an industry with margins as thin as edible horticulture. OFVGA has been actively raising this issue with the provincial and federal governments. At the federal-provincial-territorial ministers of agriculture meeting in November, ministers agreed to study the issue and bring recommendations to their next meeting. We will be following this and making contributions on behalf of Ontario growers where possible. 

I would like to thank the directors and section chairs who play such a key role in OFVGA’s lobby work, as well as the staff team behind the scenes that works so hard to support everything we do. In this year without precedent, it really wouldn’t have been possible without them.