The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) says the province’s 2025 budget includes welcome news for farmers, particularly through the long-promised $100 million expansion of the Risk Management Program (RMP), but the group says more work is needed to address persistent gaps facing the sector.
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy unveiled the Progressive Conservative government's latest fiscal plan on May 15, 2025. Among the measures included was the first phase of a three-year, $100 million increase to the RMP, a program administered by Agricorp to help eligible producers manage market volatility, adverse weather events, and other risks beyond their control. The budget confirms $30 million in new funding for 2025, marking the program’s first expansion since it was first capped at $100 million in 2012.
Sara Wood, one of the vice presidents of the OFA, told CKNXNewsToday.ca the budget addressed six of the ten major recommendations the organization put forward earlier this year. The RMP increase was one of the most critical, and its inclusion is seen as a major win for Ontario’s commodity producers.
"One of our asks was the Risk Management Program being increased by $100 million, and that was done before the election, but we’re happy to see that it is in the budget," Wood said.
The RMP supports producers of cattle, hogs, sheep, grains and oilseeds, edible horticulture, veal, and other commodities. The increase to $250 million in annual funding was a top priority for members of the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition.
Beyond the RMP, Wood said the OFA was encouraged by other indirect supports found throughout the document, including those related to job training and economic development that may benefit farmers, even if not targeted solely at agriculture.
"There is more money to [the] Better Jobs and Ontario [program], so that can also help with the ag industry," she said, pointing to labour shortages that continue to challenge farm businesses.
The OFA also took note of increased funding for rural roads and bridge infrastructure, essential for transporting food and livestock.
"We saw an increase to money for bridges and roads, which agriculture needs to be able to get our products to market," Wood said.
While the budget didn’t single out new funding for on-farm infrastructure or food processing capacity, Wood said some of the broader economic development measures may still benefit producers.
"It didn’t specifically talk to agriculture, but it'll be nice to see, hopefully, if agriculture can get in on those programs," she added.
Another highlight of the budget was the launch of the Ontario Grape Support Program, which will provide up to $35 million annually to wineries over five years, a total of $175 million aimed at doubling the percentage of Ontario grapes in blended wine. The OFA said this is a positive step toward increased local procurement and support for grape growers.
"There’s great opportunities for local procurement of Ontario-grown food and products," Wood said. "We asked for Ontario-grown procurement, so this has really been addressed by their initiative to 'Buy Ontario, Buy Canadian.'"
Still, the budget left several OFA priorities on the table, including an urgent request for increased veterinary support in rural and northern regions. The OFA has consistently raised concerns about a shortage of large-animal veterinarians and a lack of incentives to bring more students into the field.
"One thing that didn’t get addressed is that assistance funding," Wood said. "That is going to continue to be an ask for agriculture as we see less people getting in[to] the program with vets and making sure that our rural and northern communities have access to that care for their animals."
Wood also acknowledged that while the budget wasn’t agriculture-heavy in its language, the broader context still offers reasons for optimism, particularly if rural and agricultural voices remain engaged in how funding is allocated.
"We’re always happy to see that in this budget, there are things maybe not directly related to agriculture, but [that] will help assist the agriculture community," she said.
With Ontario projecting a $14.6 billion deficit in 2025 (a sharp increase from previous estimates), the OFA says it recognizes the fiscal challenges ahead but remains hopeful that agriculture will remain a government priority.
"I think it’s really important that as agriculture, we start to think outside the box," Wood said. "So we continue to talk about needing infrastructure dollars, but also needing processing capacity."
For now, the OFA says the inclusion of the RMP increase represents a critical step in the right direction, even if more work is still ahead to fully meet the needs of Ontario farmers.