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Agriculture Production Profile

— filed under: production, agriculture

Why is agriculture important anyway?

Aside from the nutritional value of food, agriculture is important to people, the economy, and our heritage.

People

The City of Kawartha Lakes is home to approximately 1,500 farms. Assuming an average of 4 people per farm, that means approximately 6,000 people live on farms in the municipality. The 2006 Census estimated 8,387 people in the area are employed year round and 4,013 seasonal in the agri-food and related industries.

Economy

Agriculture and agri-food sector is a mainstay of the economy. Kawartha Lakes has the largest number of beef cows in Central Ontario and the 4th largest number of beef cows in Ontario. Farm cash receipts for main commodities totaled $87.5 million in 2006.
(Source: OMAFRA, Census 2006)

Farm Profile

Kawartha Lakes at a Glance (PDF)

Farm Cash Receipts - Main Commodities: 2002 – 2006

Major Farm Types

Kawartha Lakes is the fourth largest municipality/county in Ontario with respect to beef cow numbers. The fourth in ewe numbers and second largest in goats. With respect to total animal numbers, Kawartha Lakes has the third largest community pasture in Ontario. The largest field crop in acres is hay with 95,825 acres grown, representing 3.74% of the provinces crop. (Source: OMAFRA 2006)

Pie chart titled Share of Farm Cash Receipts by Commodity Ontario, 2006

What else is growing in Kawartha Lakes?

Over $8 million in Floriculture, Nursery & sod sales, covering 306,117 square feet of total greenhouse area.
(Source: Census 2006)

Heritage

This area was originally surveyed and cleared for agriculture in the early 1,800’s. The European settlers established mixed farms on these lands. Many of today’s farmers are descendants of the original settlers to this area. The area has grown to include a world class seed production facility and a large independent family owned dairy processing business.

Kawartha Lakes is a regional center for farm marketing and farm supply with a livestock sale barn, large commercial grain elevators and continues to pursue diverse and value added agricultural opportunities.