(OTTAWA) – Today farm leaders from across Canada ratified the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) Canadian Farm Bill proposal at the Annual meeting of the CFA in Ottawa.

“The Canadian Farm Bill was developed by farmers from the grassroots up, through the member organizations of the CFA. Today Canadian farm leaders, democratically elected to represent the interests of Canadian producers, approved the ideas in the Farm Bill,” said Bob Friesen, CFA President. “CFA will therefore continue to push the Farm Bill as our contribution to the discussions on the next generation of agriculture policy.”

On Thursday, in a series of panel discussions, CFA delegates examined the question of agriculture policy development, what structures exist currently in Canada for the development of policy, and how the process could be improved. Representatives from agri-food industry stakeholders all along the value chain offered their perspectives and international representatives presented ideas and policy development models from their own countries.

CFA delegates were also pleased to welcome Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Chuck Strahl, who addressed the meeting Thursday. The Minister indicated he and his department are hearing broad support for CFA’s ideas in agriculture policy consultations going on across the country right now. The Minister also noted that CFA and the government are similar in that they represent the needs and interests of all producers across all regions and commodity sectors.

Elections for the CFA Executive were also held at this year’s Annual Meeting. Bob Friesen will serve another term as President of the CFA, and Laurent Pellerin as First Vice President. CFA members welcome Ron Bonnett, former President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, as the new Second Vice President of the CFA.

“CFA has taken a big step in developing farm policy that identifies a tool box of programs designed to restore profitability to Canadian farmers,” said Bonnett. “I am honoured to have been given the responsibility to work with the rest of the leadership team to push to get these programs accepted and implemented.”

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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.