Rural Ontario Institute

The Value of all of Ontario’s Farmland

Date: September 1, 2021

Farmland provides us with food, fuel, fibre, flowers, and more, and every Ontarian relies on it in one way or another.

Even so, we lose over a thousand acres of farmland every week to non-agricultural development like urban sprawl and aggregate extraction. This rate of loss is unsustainable and will impact future generations.

Insights to Fuel Rural Planning and Development

Date: July 13, 2021

Data is a critical component in addressing needs, spurring discussion, and planning for growth. Statistics Canada manages the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions (CSBC) each quarter to gather Canadian business data on how COVID-19 has impacted businesses, how businesses have responded to changes, and what businesses expect for the future.

Seeking Examples of Circular Agriculture & Food Solutions in Canada

Date: June 30, 2021

A staggering 58 percent of all food produced in Canada or 35.5 million tonnes, is lost or wasted annually across the supply chain. Moreover, it is estimated that at least a third of this can be prevented. To put that in perspective, that’s enough food to feed every Canadian for five months and represents a lost economic value of almost C$50 billion. 3

What does service mean to you?

Date: May 11, 2021

In our tiny little abode, after putting in a long work from home day, I realized I had barely seen my 13 year old all day. It seems like we are all heads down in our virtual work so much of the time. In our little work spaces, together, but separate. So after our work was done and several days of rain, I decided we needed to get out and about (safely) in our community for a reality check. So, off we went for a 2 hour, misty bike ride down trails and country roads in our community. This is what we saw! Our new rural transit bus: The Link. Connecting our little hamlet to Lakefield, Peterborough, Bridgenorth and beyond! It feels so good to be part of that project connecting isolated communities to school, medical services, jobs and all around opportunity.

AALP Class 18 - Seminar 2, Farm Tours

Date: March 30, 2021

The second seminar for class 18 took many class members through a snowy adventure across Ontario into Cornwall. While the trip to Cornwall was tense, the lessons learned while there were worth it all. On our third day, we travelled to the Pork Council of Canada to hear from four different lobbyists about the groups that they represent and the tactics they use to help ensure that farmers and the agricultural businesses of Canada have a voice in parliament. Though many people think that the words lobbyists, or lobbying, are bad, the four representatives had a very different perspective. While asking questions and hearing what they did we learned that they play a role in getting to know government officials and their staff. Their job might bring them to an MP, or to the MP’s assistant or even to the speaker of the house, and they all said that each of these people are equally as important to get to know. It is important to foster relationships and earn the trust of every single person so that they can draw support and help people understand what the agricultural sector is fighting for or against.

AALP Class 18 Leadership Profile – Felix Weber

Date: March 30, 2021

The Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program is now running its 18^th cohort of people dedicated to an experiential program of leadership development that will provide leadership principles, a template for future growth, and a growing network of engaged leaders in Ontario agriculture. The program is well-known, and well-loved, for the broad array of people it attracts from every corner of agriculture. This year’s class is dealing with a global pandemic and working to continue their journey through unforeseen disruptions and challenges. We spoke to President of Ag Business & Crop Inc. and Vice President of CartoCanada; Class 18 participant Felix Weber about his leadership journey.

COVID-19 impact on rural employment in Ontario to February, 2021

Date: March 23, 2021

COVID-19 Impact on Rural Employment: Ontario in the Canadian context up to February, 2021 highlights the impact on rural Ontario with a comparison to the impact on rural employment in other provinces and to large urban centres within Ontario.

COVID-19: Not the Great Equalizer

Date: March 16, 2021

A year of global tragedy

As we pass the one-year anniversary of the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens around the world reflect on an unprecedented year; globally, there have been nearly 120 million cases of COVID-19 and over 2.65 million deaths. Predictably, the impacts of COVID-19 are inequitable; income, ethnicity, gender, and geography have been demonstrated to be among the most significant factors contributing to the severity of the impact of COVID-19.

COVID-19 impact on rural employment in Ontario to January, 2021

Date: February 16, 2021

COVID-19 Impact on Rural Employment: Ontario in the Canadian context up to January, 2021 highlights the impact on rural Ontario with a comparison to the impact on rural employment in other provinces.

COVID 19 Business Impacts Persist

Date: February 2, 2021

An analysis of business closure/reopening statistics reported in a special COVID edition of the Focus on Rural Ontario fact series by the Rural Ontario Institute reveal that in areas outside of Census Metropolitan Areas in October there were fewer active businesses reporting payroll by some -7 % than would otherwise have been expected. March and April closures were significantly higher than usual and openings/re-openings that have occurred since while also higher than normal were not enough to recover to the previous level of active businesses.

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