Project Name: Agri-Food Systems Study

Project summary and highlights:

In 2023 the Wellington Federation of Agriculture completed an Agri-Food system study with the help of the Wilton Consulting Group at a cost of approximately $32,000. This comprehensive study outlines the economic impact of the Agri-Food system across Wellington County and the overall impact to Canada’s GDP. The 59-page document details the various aspects of agriculture, such as livestock, crops, fibre, processing, demographics and more. It also includes easy-to-read graphics that can be used as marketing tools for print or social media education.

The WFA used the funds provided to get printed booklets of the study. Once the booklets were printed, we went and presented to all 7 lower tier municipalities on the findings of the study and highlighted for them to use it as a resource when making decisions around agriculture. The presentations were well received, and the Councils appreciated the graphics and info that the booklets provided.

We are also in discussion with the libraries across Wellington County and hope to have copies at all the branches by this fall. There is also some Highschool agriculture programs that have expressed interest in getting copies of the full study.

The funds were used to print 200 booklets that were distributed during municipal delegations. These booklets were also taken to events to be handed out to government officials.

Organizations that partnered in-kind contributions:

There were no official in-kind contributions to this project, however we were very fortunate in that one of our board members had a connection with Wilton Consulting Group, which resulted in us getting a significant discount in the cost of the study. Having the same content done by another firm would have resulted over the $39,000. We are very grateful for the time and efforts they put into completing this project and they were phenomenal to work with.

Lasting and relevant impact to the OFA membership:  

The information included in the Agri-Food System study is critical information that we have referenced many times in various scenarios, whether it’s promoting the importance of agriculture overall or even highlighting the diversity of agriculture in Wellington County. Every time that you read the study there are different highlights and facts that can be pulled out and applied to land use discussions, dinner table discussions or even the economic impact of agriculture in Wellington County.

We have referenced the study multiple times in letters to County and Municipal councils in support or opposition of zoning or severance applications. The Agri-food system study has even been discussed with other federations who see it as a beneficial tool to use when advocating for the agricultural industry.

Bonus – any lessons learned, or surprises?

One of the lessons learned was the time dedicated to making presentations to Council. We thought it would be doable to accomplish all 7 municipalities in a month or so but with many Councils having busy agendas it took a bit longer to coordinate all the presentations. To keep a consistent message for each of the presentations we also created a brief video using AI technology to ensure that each presenter was touching on the key messages. This video also helped our board members who had never presented to a Council before and were nervous about doing so.