News related to Department of Food Agricultural and Resource Economics

Congratulations to FARE alumnus Dr. Gervan Fearon on being named an honorary degree recipient by the University of Guelph.

OAC’s Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (FARE) was recognized with prestigious honours at the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society (CAES) Annual Meeting, held June 3–5 in Ottawa. 

We are thrilled to share that FARE PhD graduate, Dr. Jamie Naylor, has been recognized with an Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award for his dissertation “Three Essays in Applied Economics: Identifying and Measuring Strategic Behaviour in Food and Water Systems” (supervised by Professor Brady Deaton, Jr.) by the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.

The Ontario Farmland Value and Rental Value Survey was launched in 2016 to address the lack of publicly available county-level data on farmland values and rental rates across Ontario. The initiative is a collaboration between the University of Guelph, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, and provincial farm organizations.

The Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics Professor Brady Deaton shared insights from the 2025 Farmland Price and Rental Survey and discuss related issues in farmland markets. The Ontario Farmland Value and Rental Value Survey is designed to generate public information on farmland values and rental rates in Ontario. Results are reported at the census division level to support farmers, landowners, and other stakeholders. Survey reports and updates are available through the project website.

In a recent appearance on TVO Today, FARE faculty and OAC Dean John Cranfield shared a compelling and optimistic message: there has never been a better time to be in agriculture. Cranfield highlighted agriculture as a future‑focused, innovation‑driven sector where economics, technology, sustainability, and food security intersect.

In U of G’s Food and Agricultural Business (BComm-FAB) major, students gain a unique blend of business training from the Lang School of Business and Economics as well as agri-food expertise from the Ontario Agricultural College - brought to life through hands-on learning experiences. For FAB student, Sophia Trothen, one of those experiences came through her involvement with the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association (CAMA), a student competition that challenges teams to develop and pitch innovative agri-food products.

FARE Prof. Brady Deaton gave remarks to the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry in Ottawa, on April 30th 2026

"Canada already has targeted tools for food affordability. A public grocery chain would be a far more expensive way to help far fewer people" says Professor Michael von Massow.

Read more at theConversation.com: Public grocery stores won’t fix Canada’s food affordability crisis