Global warming is such a huge topic nowadays, and crops that could only be growing down south are now starting to be grown in the north.
The minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for northern Ontario is Patty Hajdu. She told BayToday recently that there are positives and negatives.
"Through the Canada Research Council, the federal government funds a lot of research on how agriculture is changing across the country, including in northern Ontario, and climate change in some ways provides an opportunity to grow things in northern Ontario that we've never been able to grow before."
She says the growing season also can be longer, but it also makes it more challenging.
"What we're hearing from farmers across the country is that climate change is presenting an enormous challenge in terms of the kinds of drought that some regions of the country are seeing, the kinds of flooding that often can happen, and the unpredictability of weather that makes it harder for farmers.
"Climate change is a huge, huge consideration and concern for farmers all across the country, including in northern Ontario, even though maybe there are opportunities for new products, there are still those kinds of stresses on farmers. And that's why I think farmers are often at the forefront of ensuring that we take more action on climate because they know that without a stable climate, we can't actually have certainty around our food systems."
