Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Our congratulations go out to Teresa and Martin Van Raay and the other participants in the creation of The Whole Pig. Their start-up enterprise, producing, processing and selling local pork from their farm direct to your home freezer has been recognized by a Premier’s Award for Excellence in Agrifood Innovation.

The creation of The Whole Pig was Teresa and Martin’s answer to tough conditions in the swine industry over the past few years, responding with high-quality, local, good-for-you pork products sold direct to consumers. Innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, yes, but a solid business model that complements and de-risks the mainstay of their family farm. We are left to wonder how they will take advantage of what they are learning from their relationships with consumers that they will use in their commodity business – stay tuned.

eBiz is pleased to have been involved in the genesis of www.thewholepig.ca – and particularly happy to have been able to sample the new company’s great products along the way.

Great work, Teresa and Martin!

Views: 90

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Congrats Teresa and Martin on the award and the success of the new business venture.

Take care,

 

Joe Dales

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Export Gains Support Grains as Crypto Markets Retreat

The week of November 17 to 21 brought mixed commodity trends, changing export demand, and cautious investor behavior as markets prepared for month-end adjustments.

Stats Canada releases updated 2024 farm income data

Realized net farm income fell 26 per cent in 2024

USDA's November Crop Report was neutral to bearish vs expectations for corn

The 2025 U.S. corn crop remained historically very large with key revisions pointing to slightly lower production

Technology transforms traditional family farming

Farms today are rooted in tradition, with many working hard to keep generational operations alive. But technology has become essential to soil, seed and watering processes. Farmers are balancing two eras—remembering the iron and instinct of the past while embracing how technology is reshaping successful farming. Soda Springs farmer Dan Lakey describes his experience as two different farming careers. Growing up on the Lakey Farm in the 1980s and 1990s, he spent countless hours during his teenage years pulling a cultivator behind a 300-horsepower tractor. “I didn’t enjoy it much because all I knew was the hard work,” he said. After college and time in the corporate world, Lakey returned to the family farm and found how drastically equipment and the industry had changed. Larger planters and 600-horsepower tractors have revolutionized productivity and efficiency. What once took a full crew a week now takes two people a single day. GPS-guided tractors and combines with auto-steer capa

Deere forecasts little relief for U.S. farmers

Deere & Co., the world's largest farm-equipment manufacturer, sees another difficult year ahead for the U.S. farm economy. Why it matters: America's farmers have been in a two-year slump, squeezed by rising costs, falling crop prices, tariffs and a global trade war. Zoom in: Deere on Wednesday provided its first forecast for 2026, saying it expects its business selling to large-scale farms in the U.S. and Canada to fall 15% to 20%. Row-crop farmers — like those growing corn, soybeans, and wheat — continue to face headwinds, pressuring their short-term liquidity and causing them to continue to rely on older, used equipment, the company told investors. Deere is continuing to keep production tight for large equipment in response to low demand, noting that its inventory of big tractors ended the fiscal year at the lowest unit level in over 17 years. Zoom out: "Our organization is used to managing cyclicality. But this year, we faced an additional headwind of heightened uncertainty in a

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service