For immediate release: 29 September 2006

Agriculture Week Celebrates Farmers

Thanksgiving Perfect Time To Buy Local, Support Ontario Farmers

Guelph - Ontario Agriculture Week is an excellent opportunity to buy food grown by local farmers, Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said today.

"Thanksgiving is the perfect time to be grateful for the hard work of farmers, who put high-quality food on our table every day," said Dombrowsky. "I encourage every Ontarian to buy locally produced food and to be sure to thank a farmer."

Farmers and food processors throughout Ontario contribute to a vibrant industry that generates $30 billion a year for the economy, employs 650,000 people, and ships more than $8.5 billion in exports every year. Ontario's food industry includes such sectors as cereal and flour, meat and poultry, beverages, fruit and vegetables, dairy, bakery, and other food products.

Recent initiatives that show that the McGuinty government is on the side of farmers and families in rural Ontario include:

• Consulting industry leaders on a branding and marketing strategy for Ontario agriculture, to help Ontarians buy local every week of the year
• Providing $910 million in provincial funding for farm income support since taking office, including $110 million announced at the International Plowing Match
• Recognizing innovation in the province's agriculture sector by launching the $2.5-million Premier's Awards for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence
• Investing up to $520 million over 12 years to help build a successful ethanol industry in Ontario.

The week leading up to Thanksgiving is celebrated as Ontario Agriculture Week. This year it takes place October 2 to 8, 2006.

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Contact:
Chris Flavelle
Minister's Office
(416) 326-3072

Ontario Agri-Food Facts…did you know?

More than 200 commodities are produced in Ontario including fruits, vegetables, livestock, dairy, poultry, grains and oilseeds.

There are approximately 56,000 farms in Ontario and each farmer produces enough food to feed 120 people every year! These farms have more than $9 billion in cash receipts - that's approximately one quarter of all farm revenue in Canada.

More than half of Canada's prime agricultural land is in Ontario.

Ontario's agri-food industry contributes more than $30 billion to the provincial economy annually, and employs more than 650,000 people.

Approximately 3,700 food and beverage processors are located in Ontario.

Ontario leads the country in agri-food exports. In 2005, we shipped $8.6 billion in agri-food products around the world. Exports to the U.S. totaled $7.1 billion in 2005.

The province accounts for more than 40 per cent of Canadian food and beverage industry shipments.

Agriculture is more than food to eat. Some cloth and textiles begin in the barnyard, as wool, and in the field, with hemp. Hemp, an experimental crop, is also used to make paper and a variety of industrial products.

Ontario's greenhouse sector represents more than half of the country's greenhouse industry. In 2005 the value of greenhouse plant production was approximately $1.2 billion.

Corn is processed into road de-icers, windshield washer fluid, ethanol fuel, soap, toothpaste, paint, varnish and spark plugs to name a few.

Ontario is a world leader in food technology research and development with more than 75 per cent of agri-food exports being value-added.

Farmers in the province have reduced their pesticide use by more than 50 per cent in the last two decades.

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Contact:
Chris Flavelle
Minister's Office
(416) 326-3072