Simcoe is a nicely developed city with beautiful parks, good restaurants and shops.

Simcoe is part the region where tobacco is grown in Ontario. Because of the ongoing battle of the Canadian government against smoking and the dwindling demand many farmers are looking now for alternative products.
These are mainly peanuts, ginseng and soya beans. We always stop at the well marked sales outlets for peanuts and purchase all kind of peanut products. Mainly to feed all the creatures in our garden.
Hurry up if you want to see some tobacco fields. The industry is declining fast!

Unfortunately some people are allergic against peanuts. For that reason all products containing peanuts or peanut oil must be properly marked in Canada to prevent serious health hazards.
I was told that certain imported products, such as chocolate, did not comply with this regulation. I believe they learned their lessons very fast.

If you do not like tobacco and peanuts - what about ginseng? Did you know that Canadian ginseng is even exported to Korea and China? It is grown in the area around Simcoe, Delhi and Waterford.
Wild growing ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius) was used already a long time ago by the native people in the eastern part of North America as a medicine. After the Jesuit padre Lafitau discovered that, trade with ginseng started between North America and Asia.
Today the wild growing ginseng is almost extinguished.

Many ginseng growers offer guided tours and are also selling their products directly to the consumer.
I was informed that some growers get their products tested to make sure that they do not contain any residues from herbicides etc.