Page 11 - Huronia Community Foundation - 2023 Vital Signs Report

AGRICULTURE: Lack of understanding North Simcoe

CONCERNS AND about farm management has 29,679 acres
practices and perceptions
CHALLENGES of environmental of farmland in
production, with
Ontario must maintain a problems at the farm 67% of these in land
strong agricultural base, in can generate an overly crops. There are 172
order to provide a sound complicated legislative/ farms, providing
food security system. Ontario onerous regulatory $84m of export
agriculture provides over $40 response. With ever for North Simcoe.
billion to the GDP, Ontario’s increasing demands for -Economic Development
agri-food industry has grown to account for better efficiency and Corporation North
roughly 30 percent of Canada’s total economic productivity, scientists Simcoe
activity in this sector (1). We produce over 200 and farmers have been
varieties of products in the province. We must figuring out ways to increase crop productivity,
be mindful of some concerns that are and will use less water, and reduce negative impacts
have a major impact on our agricultural base. on the environment. This is accomplished
by software/GPS development, gene and
FARMLAND PRESERVATION hybrid efficiency using sound science-based

According to the May 2019 Census Canada, we information and research. When it comes
are losing 319 acres per day to development to pollution, climate change, protection of
(2), a sharp increase from the 175 acres daily our land, water and air, the environment and
loss recorded in the 2016 Census. To put agriculture suffer the quickest and with the
this in perspective, 319 acres can produce clearest consequences. What will our food
either, 23,500,000 apples, 75,600,000 carrots, supply look like? The state of agriculture is
37,100,000 strawberries, 1,191,465 boxes of a good overview of what we can expect our
cereal and for fine dining 1,207,096 bottles of future to look like.
wine. It might be hard to imagine, only 5% of
the total land base in Ontario can be used for
agricultural production. Ontario has 51% of
the class 1 farmland in Canada (3). The North
Simcoe Agriculture Sector adds 6.3 million in
wages to the economy (4). According to world
growth population projections, we need to
increase our production by 40% by 2050, to
meet the food demands of the world. Sound
land use planning needs to put in place to
protect farmland.

Ontario is losing 319 acres per day to development (2).
May 2019, Census Canada

SUPPORT FOR BEST FARM
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

We, the agricultural community, are nature’s
stewards. We live, raise our families, and strive
to survive operating our farm operations. Photo courtesy of Paul Maurice, Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA).

North Simcoe and Area’s Vital Signs Report 2023 | 11