By Ethan Wallace, Vice President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
There has been a noticeable shift in recent months in how governments are talking about agriculture.
As we navigate trade uncertainty, tariffs and a changing global economy, conversations about food security, domestic manufacturing, supply chain resilience and economic growth have taken on new urgency. More and more, agriculture is being recognized as an essential part of Ontario’s and Canada’s future.
That’s encouraging to see. Those of us in the agriculture sector have long made the case that agriculture is far more than simply what happens on the farm. Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sector is one of the province’s largest economic drivers, supporting businesses, creating jobs and producing the food, fuel, fibre and flowers people depend on every day.
I farm near Seaforth by Lake Huron and serve as vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), where I represent farmers in Huron and Perth counties. Even after a lifetime in agriculture, I can’t claim to know every commodity, every business or every challenge across this province firsthand. Neither can the other directors around our board table.
That’s why OFA’s annual summer board tour is so valuable.
Each year, directors spend time in a different agricultural region, meeting the farmers, processors, manufacturers and rural businesses that make Ontario agriculture so diverse. It gives us a broader perspective when we return to the board table and helps ensure our discussions are informed not only by reports and presentations, but by conversations with the people living those realities every day.
This year’s tour took us to Perth County, where agriculture is the biggest pillar of the local economy and supports an impressive network of businesses and jobs that extends well beyond the farm.
Our first stop was Millbank Hardware, a locally owned rural business that has grown into a destination for customers across southwestern Ontario while continuing to serve the needs of farm families and rural communities.
At Mapleview Agri, we saw how a homegrown company has built a reputation for producing milk replacers for calves, sheep and goats that are sold well beyond Ontario. Nuhn Industries demonstrated how Ontario manufacturing and engineering expertise have created equipment used by livestock farmers here and around the world to manage manure efficiently and responsibly.
We also visited Kampkreek Dairies, where we saw the investment, innovation and commitment that define today’s family farms, and Gray Ridge Eggs, where millions of Ontario eggs are graded, packaged and distributed to consumers every year.
All our stops were very different businesses, and that’s precisely the point.
Together, they demonstrate the remarkable network of farms, manufacturers, processors, suppliers and entrepreneurs that makes agriculture such an important economic engine. It’s a story that’s repeated in every corner of Ontario, even though the businesses themselves may look different.
Today, Ontario’s agri-food sector contributes more than $51 billion annually to the provincial economy and supports approximately 867,000 jobs — about one in every 10 jobs in the province. Those jobs span farming, food processing, manufacturing, transportation, retail, hospitality, research and countless other sectors connected to getting Ontario food, fuel, fibre and flowers from the farm to consumers here at home and around the world.
Source : OFA