Agricultural Persistence and Potentials on the Edge of Northern Ontario

Abstract

Drawing on farmers’ lived experiences, I explore factors that shape agricultural persistence in the Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada. Local farming is embedded in broader contexts and is place-based and specific. Agricultural persistence and resilience are shaped in part through individual factors, such as flexibility in response to change, the valuing of local agricultural heritage, and the determination to farm. However, attention to specific agricultural needs is critically necessary to help ensure agricultural futures in the district. I demonstrate the ways that attention to place-based experiences pinpoints the need for localized understandings and supports to ensure agricultural viability and contribute to diverse and valued visions of agriculture and food production within the province.