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Agriculture and Food

The Ford PC Government understands the need for a strong, competitive agri-food sector in Ontario.

Agriculture plays a critical role in the entire life of our economy. Agriculture is the backbone of the economic system of our communities, and that’s why it’s essential to have the regional leadership that Kevin brings in maximizing these investments for our riding.

  • Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sector supports more than 822,000 jobs and contributes $39.5 billion in GDP each year.
  • The agriculture and agri-food sector need better access to technology, and investments such as broadband and cellular access are vital to making the industry more competitive.
  • Investing up to $4 million in conjunction with the Federal government to ensure people can continue to access the safe and healthy food grown and made in Ontario. Possible projects could include:
    • transportation initiatives for employees to commute to the job site.
    • childcare options while the parents are at work.
    • language proficiency solutions.
    • improving working environments to retain employees.
  • Hosted the Ontario Food Summit to bring together 100 stakeholders in the province’s food supply chain, including farmers, Indigenous organizations, transportation services and food service providers.
  • Investing $22 million to fund 170 projects that will find new and unique innovations and technology in the agricultural sector. New technology includes:
  • A self-driving tractor for data collection and decreased use of chemical sprays.
  • An automated colour sorter machine for grading and sorting soybeans eliminates manual processing and labour challenges.
  • An automated turkey packaging processor reduces employee risk of exposure to Covid19 and addresses shortages in the meat processing sector.
  • Increasing loan limits for beef farmers to expand their business.
  • $900,000 to launch an innovative process to connect meat and poultry producers to abattoirs with available processing capacity and support recruitment, retention, and training of the workforce in the industry. 
  • $170,106 to Thunder Bay Co-operative Farm Supplies agriculture fertilizer plant.
  • $171,149 to B & B Farms potato storage and processing facility.
  • $52,500 to  Silver Creek Farm to increase capacity and production by creating adequate livestock housing.
  • $156,643 to Elite Beef Food Processing startup.
  • $137,221 to Wooly Steer Ranch.
  • $124,000 to Heartbeat Hot Sauce Co.
  • $373,394 to North Highland Farm for purchase of a dairy farm.
  • $37,500 to Bigtigong Nishnaabeg First Nation aquaculture feasibility study.
  • $321,692 to Jaspers Dairy Farm Robotic Dairy.
  • $400,000 to Veumount Farm Limited farm purchase.

“Having engaged with the staff of the local office of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), I have witnessed the tremendous work they have done in highlighting and promoting the needs of our  agricultural community” – Kevin Holland

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