Agriculture fuels Ontario’s economy.
It’s big business for the province, and nobody knows that better than the farmers bringing in the fall harvest or delivering their produce to markets.
Ontario produces more than 200 commodities, including field crops, vegetables and livestock. We are fortunate to live in a productive and bountiful province where food, fibre and fuel are grown all around us. In the hustle of harvest, it can be easy to forget the tremendous contribution farmers make to their family, community and consumers.
Ontario Agriculture Week and Thanksgiving are the perfect time to pause and reflect on the bounty and success of Ontario’s harvest. Our province is home to approximately 50,000 farms, covering more than five million hectares of productive farm land. The agri-food sector is the largest economic engine in Ontario, contributing more than $11 billion to the provincial economy.
Farming in Ontario sustains 158,000 jobs and generates $13.7 billion to the province’s GDP.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) represents more than 37,000 farm families, the majority of farmers growing and producing our food. And after our products leave the farm gate, the food and beverage sector in Ontario is often our first customer. Ontario-based food processors purchase about 65 per cent of food-related production, and are important allies in Ontario’s growing food markets. There are nearly 3,000 food and beverage processing businesses in the province, many of them located in rural communities – further strengthening the foundation of the farming community.
Harvest is happening. Ontario’s agri-food sector is booming. Let’s take a moment to share the pride of being part of this great and growing industry. With three jobs waiting for every agriculture degree graduate in Ontario, our industry is producing for today and has healthy prospects for the future.
However you celebrate Ontario Agriculture Week and Thanksgiving – buying local food, visiting a farmer’s market, spending time with your family in a corn maze – take a moment to recognize the bounty of our province and the people who are proud to produce our food.
