The Ministry of Natural Resources has quietly given an extension to farmers who may otherwise break Ontario's Endangered Species Act. A farmer who "kills, harms or harasses" a bobolink or eastern meadowlark in Ontario will face no punishment, under regulations filed online last week, until December, 2015. That extends an October deadline that had been in place since 2011.

Ministry press secretary Todd Lane says the move is intended to show the government is working with farmers.

"The latest report from the Bobolink Round Table recommended stewardship, incentive programs, research, monitoring and education, as well as a 10-year extension to the current agricultural exemption under the Endangered Species Act," Lane told QP Briefing Tuesday.

"We are giving the recommendations of this report our due consideration; however, in the interim, MNRF is providing a 14-month extension to the current exemption for agricultural operations."

The news wasn't everything the Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Mark Wales had been hoping for, when he was reached at the International Plowing Match in Essa Township today.

"Ideally, we're looking for a long-term exemption, not just a one-year," said Wales. "The only real solution is a long-term exemption ... permanent would be best."

The Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark both nest in grasslands, which can include farmers fields if the farmers are growing hay crops. The birds can be killed or injured when a farmer harvests their crops. The population of both birds has been on the decline and both species are listed as "threatened."

Wales says farmers need a 10-year exemption so they can plan their crops: hay crops are perennial grasses that are planted once for several years (up to a decade). unlike annual crops that need to be replanted every year.

The Recovery Strategy for the Boblink and Eastern Meadowlark published last year estimated that the population of the birds in Ontario had declined between 25 and 33 per cent over the past 10 years.

The recovery strategy report presents a number of options for helping Bobolink populations recover, including the possibility of farmers harvesting their hay crops later in the season, after nesting birds have moved on. The report notes that farmers don't always have flexibilty about when they cut their hay.

Wales says it's not a realistic option for most farmers, and there aren't a lot of other realistic strategies aside from simply exempting farmers. "Setting aside areas for them to nest doesn't work well — they tend not to follow signs," he said with a laugh.

Exemption is extended for farmers who harm threatened birds

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