Editing Upper Canada (section)

====Wheat and grains====
{{main|Agriculture in Upper Canada|Corn Laws}}
Upper Canada was in the unenviable position of having few exports with which to pay for all its imported manufactured needs. For the vast majority of those who settled in rural areas, debt could be paid off only through the sale of wheat and flour; yet, throughout much of the 1820s, the price of wheat went through periodic cycles of boom and bust depending upon the British markets that ultimately provided the credit upon which the farmer lived.
In the decade 1830–39, exports of wheat averaged less than £1 per person a year (less than £6 per household), and in the 1820s just half that.<ref>{{harvp|McCalla|1993|p=75}}</ref>

Given the small amounts of saleable wheat and flour, and the rarity of cash, some have questioned how market oriented these early farmers were. Instead of depending on the market to meet their needs, many of these farmers depended on networks of shared resources and cooperative marketing. For example, rather than hire labour, they met their labour needs through "work bees." such farmers are said to be 'subsistence oriented' and not to respond to market cues; rather, they engage in a [[moral economy]] seeking 'subsistence insurance' and a '[[just price]]'. [[The Children of Peace]] in the village of Hope (now [[Sharon, Ontario|Sharon]]) are a well documented example. They were the most prosperous agricultural community in [[Canada West]] by 1851.<ref>{{harvp|Schrauwers|2009|pages=41–50}}</ref>