Ontario has recently again recognized agri-food industry innovators whose ideas and products are creating jobs, growing local economies and bringing more Ontario products to consumers. Our previous blog post showcased two of the province’s Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence. These award winners were also among 50 regional award recipients who were recognized for their contributions to Ontario’s agri-food sector as well. Many of these recipients were, not surprisingly, within our great Golden Horseshoe, including: Ecospace Engineering, FoodiePages.ca, Reif Naturals, and Yorkshire Valley Farms. Let’s take a look at these four innovators:
Coming from Toronto, Ecospace Engineering‘s Ivan Milin has set out to diminish the massive amount of greenhouse gases that livestock manure creates. Milin’s solution and invention, “Milinator”, uses larvae to break down manure to produce organic fertilizer and protein-rich animal feed. Currently, he has a prototype at the University of Guelph Research Station that is producing roughly 40 kgs of high-quality fertilizer each day. Not only eliminating the harmful greenhouse gases, the Milinator also avoids the smell of raw manure, the need for storage lagoons, and the need for extra land to spread manure. It’s not too difficult to see why this invention could be greatly appreciated!
Also rooted in Toronto, FoodiePages.ca is changing the landscape for local artisanal shopping, making it quicker, easier and more convenient – at any time! For over a year now, FoodiePages has been connecting consumers from all over Ontario and Canada with more than 80 farmers and small-scale food producers and their high-quality products, online! The producers can now be connected to customers all across the country, and the consumers have an easy and convenient way to find and purchase the exact products they want. The customers also have the personal experience of being able to browse recipes, look into nutritional info, and even read about the people behind the products they are buying. Could it get any easier?
Then there’s Reif Naturals pleasing local taste buds. To many people’s enjoyment, Klaus Reif has brought us authentic Ontario raisins right out of Niagara-on-the-Lake. They have even gained positive reviews from food magazines and chefs, who are also happy to have another local option to add to their menus. How? Reif retrofitted two tobacco kilns to dry food products and bought a lot of excess Sovereign Coronation grapes – this new use for the grapes has given growers another market for their product and, perhaps even more important, reduced the amount of wasted fruit each year. As an added bonus, this has allowed for seasonal workers to be employed for a longer duration. Production has been steadily increasing, and they were up to an impressive seven tonnes of grapes in 2012!
Yorkshire Valley Farms in Etobicoke has brought organic poultry to the masses in Canada, supplying on average 38, 000 kgs of fresh chicken every week to retailers like Loblaw, Sobeys and Metro. Since its beginning in 2010, the flourishing company is now Canada’s largest producer and marketer of organic poultry. The turkeys and chickens are raised on 100% organic grain, with no use of antibiotics. With natural light, ventilation and outdoor pastures, the birds have a lower mortality rate and experience significantly less stress. Yorkshire Valley Farms has allowed consumers that want a true organic product to feel confident and satisfied with their purchasing decisions. This year their sales are expected to surpass $20 million, and they are now even looking at international export markets in China and Hong Kong. A great success right in our neighbourhood!
We would like to send a big congratulations to these four innovators, as well as all of the others, that are continually working vigorously and creatively to take advantage of all our province has to offer. Through innovations like these our province continues to grow into the prosperous, sustainable place it has the capability of being.