Did you know that over 200 agricultural commodities are produced right here in Ontario?
Ontario’s agricultural sector is diverse, and Ontario’s agricultural land is as diverse as the range of crops it produces.
Ontario’s farmland has been sorted into classes that show how capable it is of supporting agriculture. The surveys that created this classification system provide valuable data about the land, however they don’t tell the whole story.
While soils that fall into higher-ranked classes are typically better at producing traditional row crops (corn, soybeans, wheat) and horticulture, the soils that fall into lower-ranked classes are still a highly valuable agricultural resource capable of supporting a large variety of agricultural activities, such as tender fruit and livestock production. All of our agricultural land is worthy of protection.
In fact, sometimes the farmland that falls into the lower-ranked classes will actually have just the characteristics that a certain crop may need to flourish! For instance, some tender fruit crops like peaches or cherries actually do well on coarser soils that may be considered poor for the production of typical row crops.
This is why OFT believes that all of Ontario’s farmland deserves protection, no matter the soil class.
To learn more about the value of all of Ontario’s farmland, check out the resources below!