December 2009 Blog Posts (5)

You Can't Eat Energy--Peaker Plant in the Holland Marsh

PEAKER PLANT IN THE HOLLAND MARSH

My name is Avia Eek. My husband, Bill, and I farm in the Holland Marsh. My husband, and many of the farmers in the Holland Marsh are descendants of the first pioneers who broke this land in 1934. Although, it should be noted the first industry here was the harvesting of the marsh grass for mattresses. This business took place from 1880 to approx. 1915, when it peaked.

The soil in the Holland Marsh is organic based, the result of… Continue

Added by Avia Eek on December 19, 2009 at 12:03pm — 1 Comment

Lessons In Farming

I'm a young farmer. I can say that now - especially since just a couple of weeks ago we moved out to one of our family farms. This is a house my great-grandfather built in the early 1900's, and is the farm where the dry cows and heifers are kept. My mom and dad are a few kilometres away at the farm I grew up in - where the milking cows are.

As I get settled on the farm, I thought I'd share some of my experiences. Along the way I'd invite any and all pieces of advice I can get - as I… Continue

Added by Andrew Campbell on December 17, 2009 at 1:24pm — 6 Comments

The Future of Pork

We all know about the struggles facing the pork industry -- the big question though is how do we fix it.

Here are a couple of videos with some involved in the sector discussing how to move forward. Take a look a add your thoughts below.…

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Added by Andrew Campbell on December 16, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

Ontario food processors: access SODP before Dec 22, 2009

Strong Ontario food and beverage processors – particularly those located in communities that have been hardhit by the recent economic downturn – are encouraged to apply to the Southern Ontario Development Program (SODP). SODP’s food and beverage initiative includes a $20 million fund of federal interest-free loans for upgrades, expansions, or modernization of commercial food and beverage production facilities, or fund a strategy to access new markets.

Ontario Food and Beverage… Continue

Added by Lisa McLean on December 15, 2009 at 10:18am — No Comments

We can’t abandon farmers to economic insecurity

The following editorial was printed in the Guelph Mercury on December 10, and also in a slightly shorter format in the Waterloo Region Record.

By Lilian Schaer

http://news.guelphmercury.com/Opinions/EditorialOpinion/article/572775

It’s been about a year since we were plunged into financial crisis and economic uncertainty. In response, governments in many… Continue

Added by Lilian Schaer on December 11, 2009 at 7:21am — No Comments