Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Growourfarms.ca Importance of Agriculture in the Economy.

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.

Rating:
  • Currently 0/5 stars.

Views: 106

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

Two-pass Weed Control Critical in Managing Herbicide-Resistant Waterhemp in Ontario

Dr. Peter Sikkema warns that multiple herbicide-resistant waterhemp poses a severe threat to Ontario crops, requiring a two-pass weed control strategy for management.

Canola sector unimpressed with federal support announcement

Federal supports for canola miss the mark, industry groups say

Is the 2025 U.S. Corn and Soybean Crop a Black Swan Event?

On the Ag Commodity Corner+ Podcast, Moe Agostino and Abhinesh Gopal discussed Japan’s trade deal, drought cycle concerns, U.S. crop disease, and global market movements during the week of September 1 to 5, 2025.

Canadian Pork Council Welcomes New Farm Support

The Canadian Pork Council supports new federal actions to help farmers manage trade uncertainty, highlighting agriculture’s role in economic growth and the need for strong government partnerships.

Saskatchewan Harvest Now 23 Percent Complete

Saskatchewan Agriculture reports, with 23 percent of this year’s crop now harvested, crop quality and yields are variable.Saskatchewan Agriculture released its weekly crop report yesterday for the period from August 26th to September 1st.

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service