Last week, three Local Food Plus partners, the Creemore 100 Mile Store, Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh & Muskoka Lakes Winery, and the Ontario Popping Corn Company, won regional Premier Awards for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence. The three enterprises were part of a group of 50 people given regional innovation awards this year for their unique contributions to the local agri-food sector in the province.
The Creemore 100 Mile store was awarded for their innovative micro-financing model that has helped create a stronger local food economy in Simcoe County. The owners, Jacquie Durnford and Sandra Lackie, opened the store four years ago with the help of local investors in their community. Their 47 shareholders are all women with ties to the local community. The store is open year-round and sells over 1,000 products from fruits and vegetables to meat and dairy, all of which are grown or produced locally.
A t
hriving family farm since 1950, the Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh & Muskoka Lakes Winery continues the legacy of producing exceptional fruit and award-winning wines in the Muskoka region while employing the principles of land stewardship and sustainability. The Johnstons exhibited true innovation as the first to harvest cranberry vines and export them internationally.
hriving family farm since 1950, the Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh & Muskoka Lakes Winery continues the legacy of producing exceptional fruit and award-winning wines in the Muskoka region while employing the principles of land stewardship and sustainability. The Johnstons exhibited true innovation as the first to harvest cranberry vines and export them internationally.
Upon receiving their award, Wendy Hogarth, co-proprietor and sommelier, commented, “It’s wonderful that the province is acknowledging the need for agricultural innovation. Farmers have always been innovators, that’s how they survive. I think there is a real critical need for innovation in agriculture with all the threats we’re facing: climate change, the decline of oil, and a changing energy economy.”
“So much of our food and agriculture has come over from Europe, so we’re proud to be able to bring our agriculture over to Europe now,” she added. Wendy is referring to their recent venture in which they were approached by the Latvian government to help establish a cranberry industry. The Johnston’s helped assess which varieties were best suited to their climate and invented new machinery to harvest the cranberry vines in order to ship 30,000 tonnes of vines to Latvia in 2011.
After opening their family-operated farm in 1982, the Van Casterens have continually adapted and innovated in order to keep up with an ever-changing food market. In addition to their vegetable crop and sustainably raised pork, beef, and chicken, Nicholyn Farms sells products from local producers in their on-farm market store. The Van Casterens were awarded this year for their lunch program that has provided about 1,600 healthy, locally-sourced lunches a week (and counting) to several schools in the region, as well as staff at the local Ministry of Natural Resources and Public Health Unit offices.
“We’re extremely honoured and humbled that we would be chosen,” says Shane, the son of owners Lynda and Nick Van Casterens. “For us, this award provides recognition that farmers feed cities, start to finish. Using Ontario products year round, we’re able to educate and feed children– we want that to be reflective of every farm in Ontario.”
By sourcing products from 70 producers, the program has created a larger market for local farms that has boosted revenue and provided guaranteed sales.
For the pa
st 24 years, Livia and Blair Townsend of Walsingham, Ontario have been selling their gourmet popping corn to markets across Canada and internationally. In an effort to boost production, the Townsends invented an automated cob cleaner that gently cleans dust and silk from the cobs. The machinery uses automated fingers and rotating brushes that adjust to different cob sizes without removing the kernels. As this processes was formerly done by hand, the Townsends have now doubled their production, increased their revenue, and gained new customers.
st 24 years, Livia and Blair Townsend of Walsingham, Ontario have been selling their gourmet popping corn to markets across Canada and internationally. In an effort to boost production, the Townsends invented an automated cob cleaner that gently cleans dust and silk from the cobs. The machinery uses automated fingers and rotating brushes that adjust to different cob sizes without removing the kernels. As this processes was formerly done by hand, the Townsends have now doubled their production, increased their revenue, and gained new customers.
Source: Extraordinarywomentv (http://goo.gl/jp8NN)
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire