Province Recognizes On-Farm Innovation

Seven Regional Award Winners Honoured For Their Achievements

GRAFTON - Local agricultural innovators are the recipients of the first Premier's Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence. Northumberland MPP Lou Rinaldi made the presentations today at the Alnwick-Haldimand Town Hall.

"I am pleased to recognize our local farmers with these awards," said Rinaldi. "Their hard work and innovative ideas are what makes our rural communities strong."

The five-year, $2.5-million Premier's Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence, announced as part of the 2006 provincial budget, recognizes that farmers have always been innovative in the running of their businesses and will foster even greater innovation across the province's agri-food sector.

The $100,000 Premier's Award of Excellence for Agri-Food Innovation and the $50,000 Minister's Award were presented earlier this month at the Premier's Summit on Agri-Food. The Premier's Award of Excellence was won by Quinte West's NOD Apiary Products Ltd.

Each regional winner receives $5,000. Regional winners presented with their awards today were:

Durham Region:
Durham Region Dairy Producers Committee
Youngfield Farms Ltd.

Kawartha Lakes Region:
Mariposa Dairy

Hastings County:
Moorcroft Hemp Farms
NOD Apiary Products Ltd.

Northumberland County:
De Leeuw Orchards

Muskoka Region:
SAVOUR Muskoka

"I am proud of the accomplishments of these award winners," said Rinaldi. "Recognizing and encouraging innovation on the farm will help Ontario's agri-food sector get ahead in a challenging marketplace."

Other McGuinty government initiatives in support of farm families in rural Ontario include:

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Contacts:
Kelly Synnott
Minister's Office
(416) 326-6439

Brent Ross
Communications Branch
(416) 326-9342

Backgrounder

Premier's Award For Agri-Food Innovation Excellence

The five-year, $2.5-million Premier's Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence, announced as part of the 2006 provincial budget, recognizes that farmers have always been innovative in the running of their businesses and will foster even greater innovation across the province's agri-food sector.

Fifty-five regional awards, valued at $5,000 each, will be presented. The recipients of the Premier's Award, of $100,000, and the Minister's Award, of $50,000 were selected from the regional winners, and were recognized at the Premier's 2007 Agri-Food Summit.

Individuals and/or groups representing agri-food businesses and organizations were eligible to submit applications. The innovation had to have been developed and used on an Ontario farm and have the potential for use on a broader basis, benefiting the agriculture industry.

Applications were reviewed by an independent panel comprising a cross-section of Ontario's agri-food industry. Four broad criteria were used:

1. uniqueness and originality,
2. stage of development,
3. the impact or benefits of the innovation, and
4. adoption and/or commercialization.

The following applicants from central Ontario received $5,000 regional Premier's Awards for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence:

De Leeuw Orchards
Northumberland County
John De Leeuw recognized a smart idea when he saw it. He introduced new technology to Ontario to improve spraying practices in the orchard. The Smart Spray system uses ultrasonic sensors linked to a computer and tractor-mounted controller to seek and target trees to be sprayed. The spray tower, an eight foot stack on the rear of the sprayer, has 15 spray nozzles on each side and a fan at its base to fill the tower with air. The compressed air forces the spray through the nozzles, which direct the spray out horizontally to the trees. This system uses fewer chemicals, saves costs and benefits the environment.

Durham Region Dairy Producers Committee
Durham Region
The Durham Region Dairy Producers Committee is serious about the promotion of its product. The organization, which represents 150 local dairy farmers, educates consumers about the value of dairy products in their diets using a life-sized, interactive fibreglass cow. Maple the Holstein cow, who earned her name through a consumer contest, travels in her own special trailer, accompanied by a glass-door display refrigerator and a freezer full of all-Canadian ice cream. Maple encourages hands-on learning, with a realistic-looking udder and teats that can be milked. She has been so successful at promoting product excellence, that the committee has purchased a second cow, fondly known as Maple 2.

Mariposa Dairy
Kawartha Lakes
More cheese, please! The Vandenburg family, owners of the Mariposa Dairy, have developed new goat cheese products that are proving to be a real hit in the marketplace. By adding cinnamon and cranberries to goat cheese, Mariposa Dairy has grown its market, doubled the number of employees at the cheese plant since 2004 and expanded goat milk production in Ontario. Since the first flavoured cheeses were developed in 2003, the Vandenburgs have increased their product line. Mariposa Dairy goat cheeses can be found in various retail stores across the province, including Loblaws, and entered the U.S. marketplace in 2005. Plans are afoot to introduce the goat cheeses to the international marketplace as well.

Moorcroft Hemp Farms
Hastings County
Working with a crop that's easy to grow but challenging to harvest turned farmer Grant Moorcroft into farmer-fabricator. After growing hemp for seven years, the owner of Moorcroft Hemp Farms decided to modify his existing equipment to improve his hemp harvest. Now he is running trials on a new fibre extractor and chopper that, he hopes, will prove to be better and faster. This new equipment would allow Moorcroft to process part of the hemp's fibre and hurd, and provide commercial factories with a better product.

NOD Apiary Products Ltd.*
Hastings County
The buzz in Hastings County includes a lot of talk about Mite-Away II. Developed, manufactured and distributed by David VanderDussen and NOD Apiary Products, this innovative product protects honeybees from Varroa mites, which have a negative impact on both hive populations and the amount of honey produced. Mite-Away II has made its way to apiaries across North America, with positive results.

SAVOUR Muskoka
Muskoka District
SAVOUR Muskoka is a collective of farmers united with two clear objectives: to provide regional and unique products to consumers, and to promote agri-businesses in the region. The successful marketing program includes a logo and wide promotion of the products. This initiative has revitalized local producers in the region.

Youngfield Farms Ltd.
Durham Region
You might say Ivan and Brian De Jong have turned tillage on its ear! The farmers have developed Canada's first vertical tillage tool, which allows for multi-year corn production on a sustainable level. Using yield mapping to monitor the impact of vertical tillage on multi-year corn fields, the De Jongs have recorded an increase in yields while realizing a 90 per cent reduction in fuel costs associated with soil preparation. There are three types of vertical tillage tools in North America.

* also winner of the $100,000 Premier's Award of Excellence, presented at the Premier's 2007
Agri-Food Summit.

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Contacts:
Kelly Synnott
Minister's Office
(416) 326-6439

Brent Ross
Communications Branch
(416) 326-9342