Commentary

Looking Upward and Outward

December 31, 2021 | Ed Scharringa

Welcoming a new year always offers time for reflection. The past year has surely been different from previous ones as we continue to deal with the long-term repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have seen major labour disruptions on many farms. Processing facilities and abattoirs have thousands of unfilled positions, even causing some to close down parts of production. This situation has even caught the ear of our new Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Lisa Thompson. She has challenged the sector to find and offer solutions.

This year we have also seen supply shortages, including energy, around the world and even in our own resource-rich country, as government works to eliminate carbon fuels and find replacements.

Our housing and land prices have risen to heights once never imagined. Pressures from development are affecting our prime agricultural lands, even endangering specialty crop areas. One wonders how all this can be sustainable.

We at CFFO have written submissions and developed policies to address many of these concerns, and we are committed to advocating on behalf of our members from a Christian perspective.

Things may not have always trended the way we would have liked, but we have to admit that, even facing these issues, we are a blessed nation. All in all, we should not forget to thank our Heavenly Father for another year of blessing.

Going forward, we need to do our part by reaching out to government with solutions that strengthen our ability to be producers and stewards of our land and farm businesses. As a Christian farm organization, we look upward and outward to seek wisdom and knowledge from the Lord to do what’s right.

New challenges lie before us, that is certain. How we deal with them is now the question. We can use this time to rise to the challenge, knowing that our Lord and God will provide us with all we stand in need of if we trust in his strength rather than our own.

May 2022 be a new year of hope and blessings to you and yours, and may we ever give praise and honour to our Heavenly Father.

Ed Scharringa is Board of Directors President of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. The CFFO Commentary represents the opinions of the writer and does not necessarily represent CFFO policy. The CFFO Commentary is heard weekly on CFCO Chatham, CKXS Chatham, CKNX Wingham, and CHLP Listowel.