It is my pleasure to provide you with my President’s message. The agriculture industry in Ontario has been impacted by global challenges and elevated uncertainty that has presented both risks and opportunities for a resilient and stable agri business sector. Amidst labour stoppages, reimagined supply chains, disease outbreaks, climate change, global emergencies and fiscal and economic pressures, OABA has been a constant with a focus on advancing our members’ collective competitiveness through effective communication to our membership of key issues and with timely information that impacts your businesses, advocating for sector priorities to elected officials and bureaucrats and by providing training and education programming to our members ensuring safe operations.

OABA has a long history of representing the interest of our diverse membership who are operating in the crop inputs, grain elevator and feed sectors. This past year was no exception with our Board and Section Committees proactively addressing various strategic priorities and issues.

Our Board and staff are driven by our strategic plan that was released in 2023. Key strategic areas of focus include a) member engagement, b) stakeholder relationships, c) safety, training, education and leadership, d) advocacy and government relations, and e) organizational excellence. As we transition through 2024 and beyond, OABA will look to build our organizational activities and allocate resources to delivering on these priorities and drive value to our membership.

In the areas of government relations, OABA continues to build and foster relationships with elected officials and senior bureaucrats at the federal and provincial levels to effectively represent members’ collective interests. OABA has provided submissions on several federal regulatory consultations that included the fertilizer emissions reduction mandate, CFIA regulatory modernization, Clean Fuel Standards, and plant breeding. Engagement at the provincial level included various budget consultations, advocating for agri-food sector investments applicable to agri businesses, and the development of an agri-food labour strategy. We envision that 2024 will be an even busier year on the government relations front with further federal carbon-based sustainability and policy programming anticipated, and the continuation of Private Member’s Bill C-234 transitioning through parliamentary process. Additionally, we anticipate increasing levels of union related work stoppages in critical supply chains through strike action and will be proactively engaging with applicable ministries to ensure potential impacts on the agri business sector are mitigated.

In the areas of stakeholder and member relations, OABA continues to build strong relationships with allied industry and grower associations within the provincial and federal agri-food landscape. During the past year, highlights have included a number of communication collaborations with Grain Farmers of Ontario, Soy Canada, Fertilizer Canada, Ontario Bean Growers, Ontario Canola Growers, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Canada Grains Council, Seeds Canada and the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada to issue industry aligned guidance to members on the review of pre-commercialized technologies, addressing union strike actions, advocating for continued market access, seeking a resolution to the 35% tariff on fertilizer, relief from carbon taxation, supporting new agri-business investments within Ontario, and ensuring our sector has access to new agri-tech funding streams. These collaborative efforts were undertaken to ensure our sector is aligned in our interests to both government at all levels and the value chain. Additionally, financial support was provided to Farm and Food Care Ontario’s updated 6th edition of the Real Dirt on Farming that was followed by a hard copy of the publication being issued to all OABA members earlier this year.

A core area of focus for OABA over the years has been leading the delivery of premium health, safety, and leadership programming to our membership. Our staff team have fully transitioned our programs back to in-person events. The Safety Network has been re-established and we are excited to welcome the largest number of new participants into the group in recent past which is confirmation of the value the network provides to health and safety professionals within OABA’s membership. Additionally, we have re-established a Human Resource Committee after a period of hiatus and have commenced with implementing a multi-year work plan ensuring we are providing timely and accurate resources and information to our members. Our goal is to better address labour related regulatory compliance as the committee becomes more established. OABA continues to offer a full suite of lead hand and grain grading courses and partners with ACUTE Environmental and Safety Services to offer health and safety training courses throughout the province to ensure OABA member company staff have the training and education they need to run both safe and regulatory compliant businesses.

Our 2023 Annual Meeting and Convention was held at the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale, this past December. It was particularly satisfying to see such strong attendance at the event this past year with numbers reaching close to pre-pandemic totals. I look forward to seeing everybody at our full slate of industry golf events over the course of the summer and in Mississauga at our Annual Meeting and Convention scheduled for December 5 and 6, 2024.

I would also like to thank the many committee volunteers and OABA staff for their commitment to both the association and the advancement of the Ontario agri business sector. The effective combination of volunteer expertise on the Board of Directors, Crop Inputs, Feed and Grain Section Committees, numerous sub-committees and the professional staff of Ron, Tracey, Joanne, and Russel continue to position OABA as a strong leadership organization that effectively represents and advances the interest of our vast membership to industry stakeholders including government, producer organizations and the agri-food value chain. It is gratifying to know that government agencies, ministries and other organizations routinely look to OABA for our collective perspectives, thought leadership, as well as a key collaborator in driving sector growth and identifying and effectively implementing solutions to issues as they arise.

In closing, I would like to extend my thanks to the OABA staff, Board, Committees and all OABA members for allowing me the privilege of serving as your President this year, and wish all members continued success through 2024 and beyond.