Farming celebrated during Canadian Agriculture Day

A farmer is seen combining beans in Huron County in this 2016 file photo. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

Today marks Canadian Agricultural Day — a federally-designated day to celebrate the contributions of farms and farming to the country.

In Ontario alone, agriculture contributes $47 billion to the province’s gross domestic product.

Agriculture provides 860,000 Ontarians with jobs, both directly and indirectly, through food production, packaging, and exporting.

A staggering 12 million acres of land in Ontario is being used for agriculture and food production, which leads to $20 billion in exports every single year.

Agriculture is also the heartbeat of most communities outside of Canada’s major cities, providing employment and a sense of community to thousands of Canadians. 

Most of that production in Ontario is in our region.

In fact, Huron County is the most agriculturally-productive county in all of Ontario.