There’s a simple truth at the heart of Canada’s food system, rural economy, and climate ambitions: when grain farmers grow, Canada grows.
Each year, Ontario’s 28,000 grain farmers produce over 16 million tonnes of barley, corn, oats, soybeans, and wheat. These crops are the foundation of vital industries—they feed livestock, supply food manufacturers, fuel clean energy, and anchor rural economies. They also feed every Canadian. From baked goods to biofuels, the products of our fields ripple through every part of Canadian life.
This isn’t just about maintaining what we have—it’s about unlocking what’s next. Grain farming in Ontario is a platform for innovation, economic growth, and global leadership.
The opportunity is real. Grain farming in Ontario contributes more than $27 billion to Ontario’s economy annually and supports over 91,000 jobs. Our grain products are in demand at home and abroad. And let’s not forget that grain-based renewable fuels can help power Canada’s sustainable future. As global food security becomes more fragile, countries are looking to stable producers like Canada—and we can answer that call.
Ontario grain farmers are not just part of the solution—we’ve been leading it for decades. Growing more on the same amount of land and continuously adopting advanced agronomical practices and innovative technologies.
Turning this momentum into lasting national success takes more than what farmers can do alone.
To truly grow, we need federal policies that match the ambition and potential of Canadian agriculture. That means investing in agricultural research and innovation to grow more food on the same amount of land, recognizing the environmental value of current and future sustainable practices while not imposing arbitrary regulations, supporting grain-based clean fuels, and ensuring farmers have fair access to international markets and domestic supply chains.
Our long-standing relationship with our American neighbours may be under strain, but it is crucial that we maintain the open trade our farmers rely on. Fertilizers like nitrogen and phosphate; equipment for planting, growing, harvesting, and moving crops; crop seeds; crop protection products; and energy such as natural gas, propane, gasoline and diesel need to be kept free of both tariff and non-tariff barriers.
We also need to grow existing and take advantage of new overseas market opportunities where our gains are in high demand, notably China, Asia Pacific, South America, Europe, and the UK. If retaliatory tariffs remain necessary, any funds collected from grain farmers should be returned directly to us and direct stimulus funding should be offered to protect domestic processing and create new markets. And we need to invest in food and beverage processing, along with export capacity, to seize new grain utilization opportunities.
Of course, instability is unavoidable in a complex and changing global trade environment. This is why it’s more important than ever to protect grain farmers from escalating input prices and market volatility, like providing funding for the Risk Management Program and making programming equivalent to U.S. risk management programs. It is also important that funding for the Advance Payments Program be permanently increased.
We’ve shown that we know how to innovate and grow. To continue doing this we need equitable distribution of research funding that supports sectoral innovation and restores funding for plant breeding.
This is a moment for collaboration. A moment to make sure grain farmers have government support for managing risks so we can maximize our potential.
Ontario’s grain farmers are ready. With smart federal partnership, we can grow food, opportunity, and climate solutions—right here in our own backyard.
If we grow, Canada grows. Let’s make that our shared goal: Let’s grow together.
Jeff Harrison, grain farmer and Chair at Grain Farmers of Ontario, representing 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers across the province.
