Overview

Ontario’s agriculture and food industry offers competitive jobs and a diverse crop of employers in need of talent to grow their businesses.

One in every 9 jobs in Ontario is in the agriculture and food industry. It generates almost $49 billion in annual GDP, and agricultural exports hit over $26 billion in 2023, up 10% from 2022.

Our agriculture and food industry has recorded steady growth for decades and offers a wide-range of stimulating and well-paying jobs that are in high demand.

Our post-secondary institutions are also globally respected for the quality of their agricultural research and instructors.

Opportunities await you in fields such as:

  • business
  • entrepreneurship
  • skilled trades
  • technology
  • innovation
  • robotics
  • automation
  • science
  • engineering
  • mathematics

On this page, you’ll find resources for students, new grads and job seekers in Ontario’s agriculture and food industry.

Agricultural programs

College

Find programs through Ontario Colleges that cover all aspects of the agriculture industry, from automation and robotics, law and policy to farming and livestock management.

There are also programs in sustainable agriculture that focus on ecological and organic agriculture, small farm operations and niche market farming. Courses cover topics like soil science, weed and pest ecology and pasture management.

Search for college agricultural programs.

University

Ontario Universities' Info is a guide to Ontario universities for Ontario high school students and guidance counsellors. It provides information about programs, admission requirements and more.

Search for university agricultural programs.

Specialist High Skills Major

The Specialist High Skills Major – Agriculture program helps grade 11 and 12 students to build a foundation of sector-specific knowledge and skills before beginning their career in the industry or starting an apprenticeship, college or university program.

Potential career opportunities include:

  • veterinarian or veterinary technician
  • heavy-duty equipment mechanic
  • agricultural salesperson
  • greenhouse operations worker
  • chemical or mechanical engineer
  • agronomist
  • specialized livestock worker
  • farm supervisor

Food and beverage programs

College

Find food and beverage programs through Ontario Colleges. College programs prepare students to take advantage of the demand for talent in an industry that is booming. They combine practical learning with an understanding of the food service industry and prepare students with skills and training.

Search for food and beverage programs.

Specialist High Skills Major

The Specialist High Skills Major – Food Processing program helps grade 11 and 12 students to build a foundation of sector-specific knowledge and skills before beginning their career in the industry or starting an apprenticeship, college or university program.

Potential career opportunities include:

  • supervisor in food and beverage processing
  • process control and machine operator
  • dietitian or nutritionist
  • baker
  • cook

Veterinary programs

Find a career working with animals, whether as a veterinarian, vet technician or assistant. This includes diagnosing and treating animal illnesses and providing care and treatment advice to clients. There are many opportunities for employment in veterinary medicine in:

  • veterinary practices
  • educational institutions
  • zoos
  • research labs
  • provincial and federal governments
  • industry organizations

Search for college veterinary programs.

Trades programs

Explore Ontario’s trades in the agriculture and food industry and learn about apprenticeship training, what you can expect to learn on-the-job, in school and more.

Become certified as an agricultural equipment technician, horticulture technician or arborist.

If you’re interested in working with farm animals or producing crops, you might want to look into becoming a skilled horse groom, fruit grower, dairy herdsperson or swine herdsperson.

Find more information:

Job Bank

Job Bank is Canada's national employment service in cooperation with Ontario and other provincial and territorial governments. It helps Canadians find work and plan their careers, and makes it easier for employers to recruit and hire.

Job Bank lists many of the opportunities available in Ontario in the agriculture and food industry.

Featured job categories

food and beverage processing retail and wholesale agriculture, food and harvesting food transportation and warehousing landscape and horticulture agriculture and production

How to find jobs using Job Bank

  • Search using keywords and locations.
  • Apply specific filters using Job Bank’s advanced search.
  • Subscribe to Job Alerts to be emailed new job postings that match your search criteria.
  • Sign up to Job Match and be instantly matched to jobs that suit your skills and experience.

Job boards and recruitment companies

AgCareers

AgCareers is a company that provides global talent solutions in agriculture and food.

AgriRecruiting

AgriRecruiting specializes in recruitment in the agribusiness sector.

Grasslands Recruitment Group

Grasslands Recruitment Group has dedicated resources to connect job seekers and employers across Canada in the agribusiness and agrifood sector.

Litherland

Litherland & Company specializes in placing skilled professionals, managers, executives and board members in the Canadian agriculture sector.

Careers In Food

Careers In Food is a job board for roles specifically in the food and beverage manufacturing sector.

Additional employment resources

Employment Ontario

Employment Ontario can help you get training, build skills or find a job. Employment Ontario will also help employers train their staff and find the talent they need.

Ontario workforce planning boards

Find a workforce planning board in your area to connect you with jobs, information and training resources.

Ontario's labour market

Find labour market information and statistics to help you plan your career. Learn about work trends and the skills, education and training you need.

You can also learn about jobs specific to the agriculture and food industry including:

Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council

Find research-based information about job types and human resources tools for employers and jobseekers in the on-farm sector.