Farms.com Home  › News

Possible Trump tariffs remain big question mark for southwestern Ontario farmers

Canadian economics have been in the headlines a lot lately as it relates to the United States, possible tariffs and president-elect Donald Trump.

Much of the talk has been about manufacturing — auto specifically — especially here in southwestern Ontario.

But did you know that roughly 50 per cent of what we expert as a country is the food eat related to agriculture and farming in Canada?

resden, Ont., farmer and agricultural economist Philip Shaw says the possible tariffs remain the biggest question mark for southwestern Ontario farmers in 2025.

He talked with CBC Radio's Windsor Morning producer Peter Duck about his expectations for the new year — and a quick reflection on how things were in 2024. Here's a portion of that conversation.

How was the year as a whole for agriculture … looking back at 2024, especially here in southwestern Ontario?

Generally, we think about how good the crop was this past year and we did have a pretty good crop. 

I know some of the crops in Essex this past year were better than they were in 2023. Generally speaking, what you found with grain prices in 2024 going into 2025 was that we got down to the lowest levels we've seen since just before the pandemic and the last Trump presidency. 

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Sorghum Headworm Found: Time to Scout Your Fields

Video: Sorghum Headworm Found: Time to Scout Your Fields

Sorghum headworm has been detected in summer crop fields, making timely scouting critical for protecting yield and grain quality. In this update, Ashleigh Faris, OSU Extension cropping systems entomologist, discusses the recent detection of sorghum headworms and explains why producers should begin scouting their fields immediately.