Grey Cup of agriculture

Dec 06, 2021

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 108^th 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.

Video: Canada's Agriculture Day 2025

Let's celebrate Canadian agriculture.

Well, number one, you don't eat without farmers. Farmers put food on the table. And what could be more important than that?

Well, I think it's important that Canadians understand exactly what takes place, what happens to produce this food, no matter what sector you're talking about.

An awful lot of work goes into that. It's important to understand that meat does not come out of a showcase, and milk does not come out of a bottle. It's produced by farmers and hard work.

Canada has the best farmers in the world. And agriculture is vital to Canada.

In 2024, our agriculture and agri-food sector represented $150 billion of Canada's GDP, nearly $100 billion of our exports, and one in nine jobs.

From grains to fruits to dairy and beef, we are truly blessed with an incredible bounty. Having spent my whole life in agriculture, I see so much potential for the sector.

This time last year, I was proud to open our first-ever agriculture and trade office in the Indo-Pacific, the world’s fastest-growing economy, to cement our presence in the region and grow our exports even more. We've also been making historic investments to help our farmers to boost their yields, protect the planet, and earn a fair living.

The world wants more top-quality, sustainable food, and I know our Canadian farmers can deliver. And it's so important that you do that with pride. We need you.

Quite simply, you eat the most top quality food in the world. You do that because of the quality of farmers and ranchers you have in this country.

Just say thank you to a farmer or a rancher. They work very hard, yes, for a living, but also with a sense of pride in what they produce.

That's what Canada's Agriculture Day is all about.