All Videos Tagged agriculture (Ontario Agriculture) - Ontario Agriculture

Skrypnyk Group Interview on Family Business Succession Planning & Strategy: Part 3

2014-11-27T13:54:07.007Z

Many health problems seem to come out of nowhere – but there are often warning signs that had gone undetected or were ignored. Your business is no different....

Growourfarms.ca Importance of Agriculture in the Economy.

2009-08-22T17:07:10.000Z

Agriculture is important to Ontario’s economy. If you know at least seven people, then you probably know somebody who holds a food-related job, since one in seven Canadians works in the agri-food system. In Ontario, our farming and food processing sector employs 700,000 people who do everything from raising cattle to processing foods and manufacturing farm equipment.

The system also accounts for over $30 billion in sales, making it the second largest goods-producing sector in the province.

To produce this much food, it seems as though there must be an endless number of farmers. However, only about 12% of people who hold agri-food jobs work directly on a farm in primary agricultural production. This means the other 88% of the 700,000 Ontarians in the industry work to process and handle food after it leaves the farm.

Food processing continues to grow, too: in 2006, food processing companies (cheese factories, canneries, slaughterhouses and vegetable packers, for example) invested over $400 million in facilities in rural Ontario and bought more than 70% of the food grown by Ontario’s farmers.

While Ontarians spent over $43 billion on food in grocery stores and restaurants in Ontario in 2005 (an average of about 10% of our disposable income), not all of our food stays here at home. In fact, Ontario exports more food than any other province. In 2003, we shipped $8.4 billion in agri-food products around the world, most to the United States.

Visit www.growourfarms.ca for more information.

Growourfarms.ca Food Independence

2009-08-22T17:00:41.000Z

With over half of Canada’s best farmland in Ontario, it’s no surprise that Ontario farmers own thousands of hectares of land. That land is used to grow the fruits, vegetables, grains and meats we eat every day.

In the past, farmers often grew a variety of different vegetables or raised many types of livestock all at once. This might have fed a few people, but likely did not go beyond a small community. Now, farmers usually specialize in one type of crop or livestock, so we know they are doing one thing really well. Not only that, but one Canadian farmer can now feed about 120 people for a whole year.

Modern farmers can feed far more people because technology has helped make their crops and farming techniques more efficient. This is important because our population is steadily increasing and more people demand more food.

However, there are also fewer farms every year and Ontario grocery stores import food from other provinces and countries, including items we grow here at home like apples and strawberries.

This leads to increased food prices and the transportation required to bring food across long distances has negative effects on the environment.

Visit www.growourfarms.ca for more information.