Using Statistics Canada data to select the winner
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Ontario and Manitoba will clash on Dec. 12 in the 108th Grey Cup.
East Division champions the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will host the West Division winners the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League’s championship game at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ont.
Full disclosure, this Farms.com reporter lives in Hamilton and the first house his parents bought upon arriving in Canada is one block away from the football stadium.
Next Sunday’s game will be full of storylines.
For Hamilton, they’ll be trying to avenge their last Grey Cup loss, which occurred at Winnipeg’s hands in 2019. This while hosting the game on their home field and after recently losing team legend Angelo Mosca.
The Blue Bombers will be looking to spoil the party and repeat as Grey Cup champions.
The CFL didn’t award a Grey Cup in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Football analysts and broadcasters will use play schemes and other metrics to make their predictions, but Farms.com does things a bit differently.
The winning team will be predicted using information from the 2016 Census of Agriculture.
**Indicates advantage
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
Representing | Ontario | Manitoba |
Logo | 
| 
|
Number of Farms | 49,600** | 14,791 |
Total Farm Area | 12.3 million acres | 17.6 million acres** |
Land in Crops | 9 million acres | 11.5 million acres** |
Average Farmer Age | 55.3 | 53.8** |
Number of Pigs | 3.53 million** | 3.38 million |
Number of Turkeys | 3.8 million** | 775,214 |
Percentage of Farms with Succession Plans | 8.5** | 8.1 |
Number of Vegetable Acres | 135,420** | 4,789 |
Based on the data from the most recent ag census, it looks like the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will hoist the Grey Cup this weekend.
Local farmers are cheering for their home teams.
"Like in farming, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have faced a great deal of adversity this year but hard work and a commitment to the craft has resulted in them persevering and they now have an opportunity to play for a championship on home soil," Chad Roberts, a farmer from Hamilton, told Farms.com.
Farms.com has connected with ag groups in Manitoba for predictions and comments ahead of Sunday’s game.