Campaign History

How it all Began...

In 2005 commodity prices were low and grain and oilseed farmers in Ontario were forced to produce bellow the cost of production. The only way these farmers would be able to sustain profitable operations would be if they had an opportunity to pay into an insurance type of program to help offset the many risks in farming. The grain and oilseed farmers in Ontario developed a price insurance program called the Risk Management Program (RMP), and brought it to the provincial government to lobby for funding. This is where the slogan “Farmers Feed Cities!” began.

Ontario Grains & Oilseeds was the group that coined the phrase; they are a coalition of the Ontario Bean Producers’ Marketing Board, Ontario Canola Growers’ Association, Ontario Coloured Bean Growers’ Association, Seed Corn Growers of Ontario and Grain Farmers of Ontario. To this day the campaign is still funded and directed by Ontario Grains & Oilseeds.

All of a sudden the bright yellow signs, flags, buttons and t-shirts started showing up at rallies, fairs, festivals and parades across Ontario. The campaign had everyone talking about things we all have in common - the benefits we enjoy that depend on a healthy farm sector.

In the first two years, the campaign was solely focused on lobbying the provincial government to get the RMP which would secure a long-term solution to the farm income crisis that was plaguing the grain and oilseed sector. On June 8, 2007, the McGuinty government committed to the development of a three year pilot RMP.