Public input session held for future Ontario Agri-Food Discovery Centre

The Ontario Agri-Food Discovery Centre group held an open house event in Listowel on Wednesday to get feedback from the community on the project.

Chair Steve Dolson says they wanted to get insight from people to help plan what will be included in the centre.

"It's very much an opportunity for them to weigh in on what's important to them as far as what's in the centre for exhibits and experiences. So what else do people want to see in there, both inside and outside the centre? That's what we want to know," Dolson explained.

A mock-up example of a potential in-house experience that could be part of the future Ontario Agri-Food Discovery Centre in Listowel. (Photo by Ryan Drury)

The session on Wednesday afternoon at the Listowel Ag Hall was led by Reitch and Petch, a Canadian-based international multidisciplinary design firm. That firm is helping to design the attractions that will take up space in the centre, and in the past the firm has worked on he Smithsonian Institution, the ROM, Science North, and the London Children’s Museum.

Dolson says a huge part of the centre will be teaching people about the importance and impact of the agricultural industry on all our lives.

"The farm population is less than two per cent of the Canadian population, but one in nine Canadians are employed in this industry, they're part of it. Their jobs and their economies of their local communities in rural Ontario and beyond, from one end to the other, it's dependent on our industry," he pointed out.

An information desk at the public input session for the future Ontario Agri-Food Discovery Centre, held at the Listowel Ag Hall on October 7, 2026. (Photo by Ryan Drury)

After taking in all the suggestions, there will be some more planning needed with a goal of eventually getting the capital campaign launched next year, with some key factors that will need to come together at the table, as Dolson notes.

"So we will need obviously a federal government partner, a provincial government partner, and we already have our local municipal partner in North Perth providing the land for the site (10 acres next to the Steve Kerr Memorial Complex). But for the capital funding, we have to really focus on those main players that have to come in and be partners on it," Dolson added.

After revealing the architectural design earlier this spring, it was pointed out that the centre will likely need around $50 million to become a reality.

You can find out more about the Ontario Agri-Food Discovery Centre project by visiting https://www.oafdc.ca/.

Another mockup of a potential interactive installation for the future Ontario Agri-Food Discovery Centre in Listowel. This display features an educational interactive model based around soil health and the different agricultural uses for different soil types. (Photo by Ryan Drury)