Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Carol Mitchell - Appointed Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

We picked up the following information from the Ontario Government announcement and the OMAFRA website.


Carol Mitchell - Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Carol Mitchell joins Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Since 2003, Ontario has ensured that farms transferred within a family are exempted from land transfer taxes and has increased efforts to promote locally-grown food. Now, Minister Mitchell will continue the government's efforts to help our farmers build a thriving rural Ontario through our high-tech agriculture and food sectors.


Carol Mitchell was elected to the Ontario legislature in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. She first served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture. Subsequently, she served as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal. She was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in January 2010.

In her 12 years in municipal government, Carol was on Clinton council and was reeve of Central Huron. She was the first warden of Huron County to serve two terms in more than 100 years. Mitchell was the owner of clothing stores in Clinton and Bayfield. Born and raised in Clinton, she and her husband, Larry, have two children, Gabrielle and Jasmine.

Views: 426

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Roadrunner on January 19, 2010 at 3:47am
Does she have any direct experience in the agriculture sector other than being the Parl Assistant to Leona?
I hope she is a quick study and good Minister...we need it.
Permalink Reply by Tom Murray on January 19, 2010 at 3:55am
She can not possibly be any worse than Leona. Hopefully coming from Huron-Bruce she has a much better understanding of agriculture. We need someone to seriously step up to the plate and vigoursly support and defend agriculture in this province or the US and Quebec will continue to run us over.
Permalink Reply by Wayne Black on January 19, 2010 at 8:53am
Yeah she does. She has a great network of farmers that she routinely talks with being that Agriculture is now the number one industry in her riding. The economic impact of agriculture in 1/2 of her region (Huron) is in excess of $2.6 billion. She is well aware of the impact of agriculture. She also mentioned one day that the Huron-Bruce riding needed one more chicken farmer and she would have the most pig, dairy, chicken, and beef farmers of any other riding. She is aware of these numbers.
The Huron County fed of Ag routinely meets with her every few months on the local issues and neighbours of mine do not hesitate to call her office also.
She could be a great Minister but as long as we have the same bureaucrats behind her, same old - same old.

Roadrunner said:
Does she have any direct experience in the agriculture sector other than being the Parl Assistant to Leona?
I hope she is a quick study and good Minister...we need it.
Permalink Reply by rein minnema on January 19, 2010 at 1:13pm
congratulation Huron /Bruce
congratulation agriculture Ontario

Wayne Black said:
Yeah she does. She has a great network of farmers that she routinely talks with being that Agriculture is now the number one industry in her riding. The economic impact of agriculture in 1/2 of her region (Huron) is in excess of $2.6 billion. She is well aware of the impact of agriculture. She also mentioned one day that the Huron-Bruce riding needed one more chicken farmer and she would have the most pig, dairy, chicken, and beef farmers of any other riding. She is aware of these numbers.
The Huron County fed of Ag routinely meets with her every few months on the local issues and neighbours of mine do not hesitate to call her office also.
She could be a great Minister but as long as we have the same bureaucrats behind her, same old - same old.

Roadrunner said:
Does she have any direct experience in the agriculture sector other than being the Parl Assistant to Leona?
I hope she is a quick study and good Minister...we need it.
Permalink Reply by AgOntario on January 28, 2010 at 4:35am
What advice would you give the new ag minister? What would your priority be???

Check out responses to "What would you do if you were ag minister for a day?" at http://betterfarming.com/online-news/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-...
Permalink Reply by bert on March 21, 2010 at 11:20am
when mc ginty was opposition leader Pat hoy was agriculture critic but wgen liberals became govt party they bypassed hoy put in whats his name as minister then leona dom , hoy know agriculture and could have been good

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Corteva bringing Telbek PRO fungicide to Canadian wheat growers

The product is the first Group 21 fungicide in cereals

ODA accepting 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer nominations

The Oregon Department of Agriculture is joining partners at all levels in celebrating the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, according to a recent news release.. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2024, the IYWF highlights a global commitment to empowering and recognizing women in agriculture. “Help us celebrate Oregon women in agriculture,” said ODA Director Lisa Charpilloz Hanson in the release. “Share stories about their inspiration, the challenges they face, and the benefits of supporting female farmers and their contributions to our resilient agriculture and food systems. Send us your stories, and we will help raise awareness of the achievements of women in Oregon agriculture.” ODA invites industry partners and the public to submit stories and photos. The agency plans to feature these women across its communication platforms throughout the year. To participate, complete the online form at oda.direct/IYWF. Submissions will be shared on ODA’s Facebook

Advancing small business in rural Eastern Ontario

Eastern Ontario is fortunate to have not-for-profit organizations that are dedicated to helping small, rural businesses grow through financial support, guidance and strategic planning. Assistance can be found through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) for funding support for job creation and investment, as well as through the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to support skilled trades advancement, training, apprenticeships and provincial employment services. In addition, the Community Futures Development Corporation (CFDC) is part of a national group of 60 Ontario and 267 Canadian CFDCs, supported by both the provincial and federal governments, to build strong, rural communities. This organization offers counsel for community-based projects, business services and access to business loans up to $150,000. Under the umbrella of the CFDC is the Community Futures Eastern Ontario (CFEO), a regional association with professional members focus

Farmers provide ‘on the job training’ for Ontario agriculture minister

Trevor Jones is coming up on his first year as Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness and says the job has been a humbling learning experience. Since taking on the portfolio in March, Jones said he’s visited people on farms in communities across Ontario, at dinner tables, in stables and barns. Beginning his career with the Ontario Provincial Police, Jones later took on an executive role in the fresh food industry. Although he didn’t grow up on a farm, Jones said farmers have “welcomed me with open arms.” One thing he has learned from meeting farmers across Ontario is to ask questions. “If you don’t know, they know,” Jones said. “You can’t fake it.” When you ask questions, he said, “A farmer’s eyes will light up and tell you their story about challenges, opportunities, ideas and they’ll train you on the job. “So right now, it’s on the job training. Our farming families across the Ontario are training me to be a good minister.”

Funds meant as hand-up to farming, agriculture

Ontario farmers and agriculture-based businesses looking to bite into a chunk of $20 million in provincial and federal funds can start submitting applications at the end of next month. The funds, for enhancing or expanding existing operations, intend to give qualified recipients a hand-up "in the face of tariffs and economic uncertainty," a provincial news release said on Tuesday. Applications to the Market Diversification and Trade Resiliency Initiative can be made between Feb. 17 and March 17. "This investment will help our local farmers and agribusinesses sell more (Ontario-grown) products to markets around the world," Ontario Agriculture minister Trevor Jones said in the news release. Jones, a former police officer, grew up in Leamington, a southwestern Ontario farming hub. Program applicants must have less than 500 employees, a backgrounder says. Information about how to apply is available online at ontario.ca. Also this week, an Ottawa-based association of Canadian agricult

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service