Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

CFFO Blog: Agriculture is Cornerstone of Growth within the Agri-food Sector

The CFFO is focused on how to generate additional jobs within the agriculture and agri-food sector. The Premier’s Challenge set ambitious goals for the sector which were renewed in the recent mandate letter to the Minister of Agriculture. The leadership within the industry needs to work together to generate new ideas to meet this challenge and help strengthen our great province.

The CFFO assessment is that there are limited opportunities at the primary production level to generate more jobs. Growth in the greenhouse sector and growth in local farmers markets represent relatively modest gains in jobs. The potential to open up more agriculture in Northern Ontario is an ambitious idea that may form the new heartland for cow-calf production in Ontario. Yet, even if these opportunities are fully realized, primary agriculture alone cannot reach the goals of 120,000 jobs and doubling the rate of growth in the industry by 2020.

While the primary sector of the industry may struggle in job creation, there is the potential to increase the rate of growth in the sector. At the primary level, trends towards more efficient technologies on a limited land base in Southwestern and Eastern Ontario means that few operators will continue to manage more and more of the land-base. This trend is an extremely long-term reality for agriculture as ever since the wheel was invented, farmers have been able to manage more resources. However, these efficiencies allow a very small number of people to feed millions in North America on a relatively small proportion of their incomes. CFFO believes that Ontario farmers will need to continue to adopt new technologies in order to remain competitive within the North American market. We also believe that improved stewardship will be required. Our focus on water policy is a cornerstone in sustainable growth and stable supply for agriculture in Ontario.

Primary agriculture has a strong role to play in strengthening the food processing sector in Ontario, and thus help create jobs. In order to grow the availability of local food there is the need for greater coordination between producers, processors and retailers to ensure that our supermarkets and restaurants have a consistent supply of high quality and tasty food on store shelves and restaurant menus that were grown in Ontario. Moreover, there is untapped potential within the various immigrant groups in the Greater Toronto Area to supply herbs and spices used in traditional meals drawn from their cultural backgrounds.

Primary agriculture has a strong role to play in meeting the goals of the Premier’s challenge to the sector. As the foundation of the sector it is essential that farmers continue to strive to improve in their use of technology and embrace better stewardship of their resources. Primary agriculture can be the cornerstone of a more prosperous and growing agri-food sector in Ontario.

Views: 61

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

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

AFSC Extends Seeding Dates in Parts of Alberta After Wet Spring Delays

Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) is extending recommended seeding dates and crop insurance deadlines for several crops in parts of northern Alberta following an unusually wet and prolonged spring that has delayed field operations across the province. The changes apply for the 2026 growing season only and affect the North East, North West, and Peace regions. Above-average snowfall in April, lingering winter conditions, and continued rainfall through May have created excessive soil moisture in many areas, particularly across central, eastern, and northern Alberta, AFSC said in a release Monday. The wet conditions have slowed seeding progress and raised concerns that many producers may struggle to plant crops within the timelines required under AFSC’s crop insurance program, the release said. Crops with normal seeding deadlines between May 25 and June 1 were considered especially vulnerable to delays if rainy weather persists and fields remain inaccessible, it added. AFSC

Saskatchewan Producers Seek Clarity on Crop Insurance as Seeding Delays Persist

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) says it is working with the provincial Ministry of Agriculture and the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) to provide producers with clearer guidance on crop insurance coverage as cold and wet conditions continue to delay spring seeding across the province. Saskatchewan seeding progress remains well behind normal levels. As of May 18, provincial planting was estimated at 29% complete, well behind 72% at the same time last year and the 10-year average of 52%. Progress has been especially slow in northeastern and northwestern regions, where wet field conditions have limited operations while recommended seeding dates continue to approach, said an APAS release Tuesday. SCIC recently issued additional guidance confirming that crops remain insurable up to the final seeding deadline of June 20. Losses that are not related to the seeding date, like drought, disease, wind, and hail, are all insured. However, SCIC also

Canadian Farm Income Falls Again in 2025 Despite Record Cash Receipts

Canadian farmers recorded another difficult year for profitability in 2025, as rising expenses and relatively flat crop returns offset a strong performance from livestock. New figures released by Statistics Canada Wednesday showed realized net farm income slipped 0.3% to $8.3 billion in 2025. The modest decline follows on the heels of a much steeper 33.9% decline in 2024. Excluding cannabis, however, 2025 realized net farm income rose 9% to $9.6 billion. Realized net income measures the difference between farm cash receipts and operating expenses, adjusted for depreciation and income in kind. While profitability remained under pressure, Canadian farm cash receipts topped $100 billion for the first time since Statistics Canada began collecting the data in 1926. Total receipts climbed $4.5 billion or 4.7% on the year to a record $102.2 billion in 2025, led by strong gains in Ontario and Alberta. Livestock markets were the main driver behind the increase. Total livestock receipt

We'll 'start letting people go,' racetrack says if Ontario funding doesn't come through soon

The Fort Erie Race Track, which has employed locals for generations, fears it will have to lay off staff if provincial funding delays persist. “If we can’t get those purses up, if we can’t get horsemen … we have to start letting people go if we can’t keep the lights on,” James Culic, Fort Erie Race Track’s communications manager, told CBC Niagara. No immediate job is at risk, Culic says, but next year's budget may mean a different story. “We’re in a very tight spot," he says. The historic racetrack says the annual funding from the province, $35 million total across Ontario, has helped create summer jobs and fund purses — prize money distributed to groomers, trainers and owners of winning racehorses — in the last decade. Culic says the Ontario government is not the problem. In fact, he says they have been financially supporting the racetrack with recuperating revenue loss from slot machines that were removed in 2012. For this year, “everything was lined up with Ontario Racing and O

Experimental farm in Chatham-Kent celebrates its first harvest

The Ontario FangZheng Agriculture Enterprise has harvested its crop of medium-grain rice The Ontario FangZheng Agriculture Enterprise celebrated a milestone Friday, with producers harvesting the farm's first crop of medium-grain sticky rice. Farm manager Wendy Zhang said the experiment was a success, describing the harvested rice as "perfect." "We didn't get any disease or pest problem this year," she said. "The yield should be good — not excellent — because we still do not apply too much fertilizer."FangZheng relied on equipment supplied in part by Tri-Hark Farms to harvest the rice crop. Jim Hawkins, co-owner of Tri-Hawk Farms, said the rice crop looks promising. Despite the farm's successful harvest, John Zandstra, a professor of fruit and vegetable cropping systems at the University of Guelph's Ridgetown campus, explained that there's still quite a bit of work ahead for the initiative. New rice varieties, different planting methods, as well as different crop management strate

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service