Browse > Home / Archive by category 'Features'

Big Music Fest 09

June 29, 2009

The Big Music Festival at the Wiarton Airport on Saturday, June 27th was a huge success. Thousands of people came out to listen to the all-Canadian line-up.

Event organizers are very pleased and are starting to plan for next year’s big event…

Share This

Written by Deb · Filed Under The Area, Concerts, Features, Video, theOwen 

Dave of the Scone Mill and Bicycle Shop

June 29, 2009

Have you ever seen a wall made of bicycles?

Dave of the Scone Mill and Bicycle Shop shows off his “Wall of Bicycles”. The mill also has a functioning water wheel that produces enough energy to power 60 to 70 houses.

Next time you’re in the area… stop by and check it out.

Share This

Written by Deb · Filed Under Energy, Feature Video, Features, Video, theOwen 

Local Agri-Food Innovators Celebrated

June 16, 2009

McGuinty Government Rewards Seven Recipients For Their Innovations

Innovative ideas grown by Ontario farmers were celebrated today at a ceremony in Mildmay honouring local winners of the province’s regional awards for innovation excellence. These fresh ideas are contributing to the local economy, boosting the agri-food industry and giving consumers more choice.

The Premier’s Agri-Food Innovation Excellence awards are part of a $2.5-million, five-year program (now in its third year) established to recognize innovators who contribute to the success of Ontario’s agri-food sector.

Local events across the province are recognizing 55 regional award winners, who are receiving $5,000 each for their innovations. Area winners presented with their awards today are:

  • The Healing Arc Inc. & Everspring Farms Ltd. (Teeswater) - Bruce County
  • Saugeen Country Dairy (Markdale) - Grey County
  • WoolDrift Farm (Markdale) - Grey County
  • Grey Bruce Agriculture and Culinary Association - Grey and Bruce Counties
  • Forager Foods (Bayfield) - Huron County
  • Hillside Gardens Limited (Bradford) - Simcoe County
  • Sunrise Produce (Alliston) - Simcoe County

Winners of the $100,000 Premier’s Award and the $50,000 Minister’s Award were presented in April at the Premier’s Summit on Agri-Food.

QUOTES

“These innovations help to strengthen our local agri-food sector, which is such an important contributor to Ontario’s economy. I am pleased to recognize the achievements of these local innovators with these awards.”
- Carol Mitchell, MPP for Huron-Bruce.

QUICK FACTS

· In its first three years, the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence has attracted more than 550 applications highlighting on-farm innovations.

· Ontario’s agri-food sector is one of the province’s leading industries, contributing more than $33 billion to the economy every year.

LEARN MORE

Learn more about this year’s award winning innovations and discover the variety of previous award-winning on-farm innovations.

Learn more about other government programs supporting innovation in Ontario by visiting the Ministry of Research and Innovation website.

Regional Innovations Awarded In Mildmay

The following are Regional Award winners of the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence:

BRUCE COUNTY:

The Healing Arc Inc. & Everspring Farms Ltd. – Teeswater

Have you tasted the ‘orange of the north’? Sea Buckthorn is a multipurpose, citrus-type berry used in functional foods and for a variety of medicinal, agronomic and environmental purposes. The fruit is a source of omega 3, 6 and 9 oils and just eight berries provide the daily requirement of vitamin C and beta carotene. Sea Buckthorn can be grown in a wide range of soils, in greenhouses and is drought resistant. After six years of research and development, the growers are now selling cuttings to private and commercial sectors in Ontario and Quebec. These innovators have helped introduce the crop to Ontario and are continually working to educate consumers on its ‘berry-good’ merits.

Grey Bruce Agriculture and Culinary Association – Grey and Bruce Counties

The whole really is stronger than the sum of its parts when producers, processors, restaurants and tour operators band together to promote the benefits of local foods. This association now has 157 paid members who are enjoying the increased consumer traffic and profits that come from cross-promotion. Locals and tourists like the convenience of the Buy Local Buy Fresh map, and it helps restaurants coordinate their use of local food.

GREY COUNTY:

Saugeen Country Dairy – Markdale

If you have a yearning for yogurt, this farm’s for you. At Saugeen Country Dairy, the owners operate both a certified organic dairy farm and an on-farm dairy. It is the first on-farm dairy in Ontario to make and sell organic yogurt, which it has been doing since 1994. This yogurt has a short list of ingredients with all the milk produced on the farm. And it has been profitable. After 14 years of steady sales growth they process more than 300,000 litres and employ three full time and five part time staff.

WoolDrift Farm – Markdale

WoolDrift Farm, the first commercial sheep milking operation in the province, has shepherded the growth of Ontario’s sheep milk industry. Owners Chris Buschbeck and Axel Meister were the first to import East Friesian dairy sheep embryos into Canada and continuously improved the genetics of the flock, resulting in sales across North America. These innovators have been instrumental in founding the Ontario Dairy Sheep Association and have attracted farmers to the sheep milk market through various educational symposiums and workshops. Today, more than 50 Ontario farmers are milking sheep commercially, producing 1.5 million litres of milk which is poured into artisan cheeses, yogurt, ricotta and feta cheese.

HURON COUNTY:

Forager Foods Inc. – Bayfield

Forager Foods Inc. offers one-stop shopping with a local flavour. And it’s looking to broaden support for Ontario agri-businesses by creating a network of similar stores across southwestern Ontario. With 21 local and regional food partners currently supplying products to a 900 square-foot retail food specialty store, customers can choose from an array of locally-produced foods. These include meats, deli, artisan cheeses, Lake Huron fish, prepared foods, fresh vegetables and pantry items. Most are grown from within 45 minutes or less of the storefront. The applicant’s background as a chef helps consumers pair foods for an enjoyable and regional food experience.

SIMCOE COUNTY:

Hillside Gardens Limited – Bradford

Ron Gleason is helping to strengthen the gate-to-plate connection. He redesigned an existing software program for use as a farm traceability program. It’s capable of tracing all field activities from harvest, to packing, to shipping dates and destinations. Lot IDs are assigned in each step in the process, and the end product is dated with a bar code sticker. The wireless, computerized system will only allow product that has been assigned to a load to be picked and scanned. This improves many aspects of the business, from inventory rotation and quality issues to recall efficiency and inventory control. The system provides “real time” inventory and work is underway to expand its capabilities. Hillside Gardens is also the winner of the $50,000 Minister’s award.

Sunrise Produce – Alliston

The chips are never down at Sunrise Produce. The farm’s experienced potato breeders and growers, Peter and Carla VanderZaag, have developed three new potato varieties that can be made into the popular snack all year-round. Most other chipping varieties maintain their quality for only two to three months. The three innovative potato lines can be processed any time, from the moment they are placed in storage until the following summer. The new varieties were officially registered in 2007 and have been adopted by other producers. Last year, 300 acres of the new varieties were grown in Ontario. There is significant market growth potential for these potatoes, including in the U.S.

ABOUT THE AWARDS PROGRAM

Awards - The five-year, $2.5 million Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence is now in its third year. The Premier’s Award can be up to $100,000; the Minister’s award can be up to $50,000. There are up to 55 regional awards, valued at $5,000 each.

Who is eligible? - A farmer, primary producer, groups of farmers, combination of agri-food businesses or an agri-food related organization are all eligible for recognition under this initiative. A farmer must be one of the applicants of any group. This program is not intended for the research community as there are other government recognition programs available to this sector. Applicant/nominees must reside in Ontario and be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada. Ontario public service staff and immediate family are not eligible to apply for this program.

Types of eligible innovations - Examples of innovations for this program include (but are not limited to) improved farm practices, responding to consumer demands, environmental stewardship, health and safety on the farm, energy innovations, education and marketing of agriculture to society, and promoting local food.

Jane Muegge
Regional Information Co-ordinator
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs

jane.muegge@ontario.ca

Share This

Written by Deb · Filed Under Food, Sustainability, Business, Your Contributions, Features 

What’s going on this weekend in Grey and Bruce…

June 4, 2009

Grey, Bruce, Owen Sound has lots of things to do and see this weekend…

Friday, June 5

Saturday, June 6

Sunday, June 7

This is by no means a complete list! This is just a sampling of all the great things going on in the area… No matter what it is you decide to do, get out there and have some fun. Enjoy!

Share This

Written by Deb · Filed Under The Area, fun, Get Out, theOwen Features, Participation, Features, theOwen 

Next Page »

Close
E-mail It
‏