Bursaries and scholarships support tomorrow’s farmers, food producers

By Ethan Wallace, Vice President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Agriculture is arguably among the most important industries we have. Not only is it one of the biggest sectors of the Ontario and Canadian economies, but it’s also fundamental to our very existence.

After all, everyone has to eat – and in Ontario, we’re luckier than most in the wide range of food and farm commodities we can produce right here at home (that’s more than 200, by the way!). As well, our home grown production goes beyond food to include feed, fuel, fibre, flowers and much more.

At the same time, we know that the average age of farmers is increasing – the last national Census of Agriculture pegged it at 56 – and not only is the number of farmers declining, but the sector also struggles to fill all its available jobs.

The job shortage in agriculture is expected to reach 123,000 by 2030 as the sector both continues to grow and older workers retire, whether from the farm or other positions in the industry.

The opportunities in agriculture are diverse, fascinating and fulfilling, from traditional on-farm careers working with livestock or growing crops to industry positions in research, equipment maintenance, quality control, food safety, construction, transportation, processing, product development, marketing, sales and more.

Emerging fields are also increasingly important on the modern farm, like robotics, automation and artificial intelligence, to name just a few.