With a diverse and extensive list of challenges to address across the agriculture industry, it’s important to have leaders that bring their own unique skills, perspectives and passions to the table.

Today, marks the kick-off of Local Food Week in Ontario. It’s an annual highlight for our industry and all the hardworking individuals that grow, nurture and harvest the food that nourishes Ontarians, the province and the world. This special week of recognition takes place from June 6-12 and is the opportune time to celebrate the abundance of fresh, healthy food that is grown, produced, and processed right here at home. It’s the perfect month to commemorate local food as the growing season gains momentum with early season favourites such as asparagus, field strawberries and rhubarb.

There is something exciting about all election campaigns. There’s the intense analysis, the microscope that looks at every candidate’s individual word, and activities. There’s the ups and downs of polls that inspire and discourage people as they cheer on their favourites. There’s the push to get people up out of their chairs to the local community hub to vote, vote, vote! All this ends with a result that potentially lasts for the next four years – are you engaged in this excitement?

We’re now into the final weeks of the provincial election, and Election Day will soon be upon us. Many Ontarians have already had a chance to engage with candidates to talk about the key issues and how their parties would address them.

Ontario’s provincial election campaign is now in full swing, and across the province, candidates are engaging with voters in hopes of capturing their support at the ballot box. In turn, voters want to know where candidates stand on the issues that matter most to them.

Throughout the last two years, farmers and farm businesses have worked hard to adapt to the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. That included ensuring Ontarians continued to have access to locally grown food and keeping farm workers and rural communities healthy and safe.

For decades, farmers have been losing prime farmland to urban sprawl. I have seen several productive farms turned into housing developments, soccer fields, shopping malls, movie theatres and highway extensions.

As farmers, we know that it’s the finite details that make all the difference. This could be closing the latch on a gate, applying the parking brake, or checking your blind spot when making a left-hand turn. Biosecurity includes a collection of those details to maintain safety standards and protect livestock and crops from potentially devastating disease outbreaks.

For the farming community, the tell-tale signs of spring trigger the countdown for this year’s growing season. Planting across the province has already commenced for frost tolerant crops like small grains, potatoes and sweet green peas. Throughout the winter months farmers have ordered inputs, maintained equipment and eagerly anticipated getting back into the fields. For many, planting requires travelling busy and potentially dangerous roads.

Ontario’s agriculture industry faces various challenges as our farmers work to create a stronger, more resilient sector that will sustain Ontario for generations to come. We depend on ongoing research, innovation and proactive initiatives to help find the solutions to meet these challenges.