2018 Excellence in Agriculture award recipients
Overview
The Excellence in Agriculture program recognizes agri-food businesses and individuals that have:
- raised the bar for excellence
- demonstrated leadership in their field
- undertaken strategic product development that will benefit the sector
- advanced technological innovation
2018 award recipients
Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario
From left to right: Brent Preston, President of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO); Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Ali English, Executive Director of EFAO; Rebecca Ivanoff, EFAO; Keith Currie, President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
The EFAO's Farmer-led Research Program is designed to help farmers conduct research to help them improve or adopt ecological practices on their farm.
Since 2016, more than 30 farmers have received funding and support to conduct 44 on-farm research trials, which are helping farmers innovate and adopt farming practices that benefit their farms as well as our soils, environment and local communities.
News release - Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario
Dairy Distillery
From left to right: Evan Porteous, Anthony Seed, Ernie Hardeman (Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs), Neal McCarten, Omid McDonald, Jim McDonell, (MPP Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry).
Known as “Vodkow”, Dairy Distillery produces this new spirit from milk sugar by applying a specific process to covert the milk byproduct into alcohol. They put anything not being bottled back into the environment.
Dairy Distillery will also help Ontario dairy farmers by purchasing milk permeate, most of which would normally go to waste at a cost to the farmer.
News release - Dairy Distillery
Entomo Farms
From left to right: Ernie Hardeman (Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs), David Piccini (MPP Northumberland-Peterborough South), Darren Goldin, Ryan Goldin.
Entomo farms is a leader in producing cricket powder for food products for people, pets and livestock. They supply over 50 companies and harvest cricket castings to be used as a super fertilizer, aiming to be a zero-waste facility.
2018 honourable mentions
Building Roots - Toronto
Building Roots has created an affordable grocery store that supports low income residents and brings culturally relevant foods to diverse communities. This innovative idea is helping to put good nutritious food onto the dinner tables in low income urban areas. However, Building Roots doesn't stop at providing a low-cost option to food - they also provide educational opportunities via after school programs and summer camps.
Slate River Dairy - Thunder Bay District
Slate River Dairy has modified a European butter churn to be able to churn butter and pasteurize milk at the same time. This innovation is one-of-a-kind in Canada - it has reduced the amount of wasted product while increasing sales by 29% from October 2017 to April 2018. They have also done this while maintaining strict adherence to Canadian food safety standards.
BioLiNE Corporation - Lambton County
BioLiNE's innovation brings fertilizer formulators up a notch. Their unique process uses plant-based material like spent mushroom compost, instead of traditional soft coal sources. This means no harsh chemicals, heat and minimal energy is used to produce fulvic acid, which is an organic compound used to bolster soil properties.
They are also upcycling a product that would otherwise be considered waste.
Bell's Edge Farm - Wellington County
Bell's Edge Farm has partnered with a local dairy to produce and market gourmet butters, available in 80 Ontario retail stores in just a year-and-a-half of being in business. In addition, Bell's Edge Farm works together with local farms, which has increased production capacity and reduced waste. Their gourmet butters use local ingredients like garlic and maple syrup.
Ontario Farmland Trust - Guelph
Ontario Farmland Trust was recognized for their innovation which secures productive agricultural land for generations to come. They have developed a trust agreement that places non-agricultural development restrictions on certain pieces of land, permanently protecting farmland.
SoilOptix Inc. - Oxford County
SoilOptix Inc. has adopted technology from Europe that improves the soil sampling process in Canada. They use a non-contact sensor that detects the soil's natural decay and the radiation it emits.
The sensor has up to 30 different soil layers with a resolution of 335 data points per acre. This process is less invasive than conventional processes like grid sampling, which results in improved soil conservation.
Contact us
Email us at excellenceinagriculture@ontario.ca.