Guelph ON, 11 July 2025 — Ontario’s agri-food sector will come together this fall for the first-ever Agri Food 2050, a one-day industry event dedicated to envisioning the future of food and farming. Hosted by the Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC), the event will take place Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at the Brock Hotel in Niagara Falls.

The Agri Food 2050 event is the next step in the AAC’s broader Agri Food 2050 Initiative—a multi-year effort to identify and act on long-term priorities for Ontario’s agri food sector. With the year 2050 as a focal point, the initiative explores the big-picture trends shaping the industry’s future: land use pressures, climate change, evolving technologies, labour and demographic shifts and more.

“Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food stakeholders have unique insights and talents to help society collectively respond to disruption and create a future for our next generation,” says AAC Board member Ruth Knight, Chair of the Agri-Food 2050 Committee. “The Agri-Food 2050 initiative is an invitation to all members of our industry to come together proactively and help create a vision of what we’d like that future of our sector to be.”

The September 17 event will feature:
•    Sector-wide dialogue on the most pressing long-term challenges and opportunities
•    Interactive sessions to help shape future programming and policy
•    Cross-sector networking to spark collaboration and innovation
•    aunch of vision-to-action working groups that will continue the conversation well beyond the event

To lay the groundwork, the AAC established a Foresight Working Group to envision three possibilities for how the agriculture and food sector might look in 2050: an optimistic future outlook, a future that maintains the status quo, and a pessimistic future scenario. The Working Group also identified five key change drivers that will influence how the future unfolds: economics, environment and resources, social factors, innovation and technology, and policy and capacity for change. 

This year marks AAC’s 30th anniversary and since its founding in 1995, the organization has played a unique role as a convener and connector for Ontario’s agri food industry. With over 60 member organizations, AAC continues to bring together diverse voices to share knowledge, shape solutions, and deliver impactful programs.

Through the Agri Food 2050 Initiative, which is supported by an investment from AAC’s Strategic Initiatives Fund, the organization is using its unique position in the industry to facilitate future-focused conversations, capture key insights through workshops and surveys, and launch working groups to put ideas into action.

“As an industry association serving the entirety of Ontario's agri-food value chain, AAC is perfectly positioned to connect our sector, create space for meaningful conversation, and champion change by bringing diverse voices to the table and building a shared vision for Ontario’s agri-food future,” says Melanie DiReto, AAC Executive Director. “AAC’s identity of collaboration and adapting to change is a good fit for leading this initiative and deepening our commitment to working on behalf of a thriving agriculture and food sector.”

Ontario agri food stakeholders are encouraged to take part in a pre-event survey to help shape the agenda, and to register early to secure a spot. More details, including the event program and speaker lineup, will be shared in the coming weeks. Learn more and get involved: www.adaptcouncil.org/agri-food-2050-event
About the Agricultural Adaptation Council

The Agricultural Adaptation Council is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization that drives collaboration and supports innovation across Ontario’s agri food sector. AAC has delivered more than $338 million in funding and supported over 4,300 projects since its inception, with a proven track record of connecting ideas, people, and programs that strengthen agriculture and food in Ontario.

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Media contact:
Peter Katona, Communications Manager
Agricultural Adaptation Council | adaptcouncil.org | @adaptcouncil | 1 (800) 769-3272 Ext. 204 | pkatona@adaptcouncil.org