From the minister’s response, it’s clear that adopting new innovations and technology processes is crucial to ensuring the continuous growth of our agriculture and food sectors, and she’s absolutely correct: The innovation cluster in Peterborough does a fantastic job of promoting it. But beyond that, I’m going to take a second and say Trent University has an experimental farm that is absolutely fantastic, and invite everyone to come down and see it.

At a time when food security is paramount, meeting the goals of the Grow Ontario strategy remains a top priority. All Ontarians deserve consistent and reliable access to affordable and nutritious food, and that’s why our government must continue to make investments that will support our farmers and food producers to enhance food production.

Speaker, can the minister please elaborate on how the Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative will help to strengthen Ontario’s agriculture and food sector?

My question is to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The livestock industry is essential to Ontario’s agriculture and food industry. In Peterborough county, beef farmers generated over $11 million in farm cash receipts back in 2022. The beef sector continues to be an integral part of my local economy and, of course, of Ontario’s growing economy. Can the minister please explain how our government is ensuring that our beef sector continues to fuel our economy and feed our growing population?

Having additional processing capacity and a stable workforce is essential for a growing beef sector and for Ontario-made food to get to market. Can the minister please explain how funding initiatives by our government will ensure that Ontario is building the capacity that we need to grow the agricultural industry?