Market share expansion a focus for Grape Growers' re-elected chair Thursday, April 10, 2014 by MATT MCINTOSH After being re-elected as chair of Grape Growers of Ontario’s board of directors, Bill George, owner of George II Farm and a multi-generational grape grower from Beamsville in the Niagara region, says he wants to spend his next term focusing on expanding Ontario’s share of the domestic wine market. “Right now Ontario wines have about a 37 per cent share of the domestic market, so there’s lots of room for growth,” says George. “That goes for both VQA wines and ICB wines, which are International Canadian Blends.” However, George says the primary focus is still on developing the market for VQA wines. According to Debbie Zimmerman, CEO of Grape Growers of Ontario, the board chair’s role is to communicate with government on behalf of Ontario’s grape and wine producers. While it is not an easy position to hold in such a highly regulated industry, she says, George has proven himself as a capable board member and leader over the last eight years. The board as a whole, says Zimmerman, has not changed since the last election in 2013, but there is a vacancy for one seat for southwestern Ontario that has not been filled because the organization is “waiting for recommendations for it.” “Board elections are done in one year intervals . . . we had some elections this year but we have other members that are only halfway through their term,” she says. Grape Growers of Ontario is the commodity group that represents close to 500 grape and wine producers located in Eastern Ontario, the Niagara region, and on Lake Erie’s north shore. BF Chatham-Kent groups debate who will foot the costs of new local food branding project Ottawa think tank predicts recovery for Canada's food manufacturing and service industries
How will Carney work with Farmers? Wednesday, April 30, 2025 Prime Minister Carney has a mandate to lead the country, but the country is quite divided, and much of the agriculture industry feels alienated. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre have both pledged cooperation on key issues like U.S. tariffs. As the new... Read this article online
Sheep farmers win Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers Wednesday, April 30, 2025 Sheep farmers and wool producers from Wallenstein, Ont. are Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2025. “It’s great to be recognized by your peers in the industry with an award like that,” Ryan Schill told Farms.com. “When we started the sheep farm, there were people questioning us... Read this article online
2025 Election Results Prompt Concern and Reflection Among Prairie Farmers Tuesday, April 29, 2025 Users on Agriville.com weigh-in on the 2025 federal election outcome As news broke on April 28 that Mark Carney’s Liberals had won the 2025 federal election, many western Canadian farmers on Agriville.com shared their reactions. The mood was largely one of disappointment, with... Read this article online
Support IPM With a Bench Sponsorship Tuesday, April 29, 2025 The International Plowing Match & Rural Expo (IPM) Local Committee has launched the Bench Sponsorship Project for the upcoming 2025 event in West Niagara. This initiative invites individuals and businesses to sponsor commemorative benches for $500 each, helping enhance the visitor... Read this article online
New board members for Ontario Pork Friday, April 25, 2025 Ontario Pork, an association representing the 1,898 pork farms that market 5.9 million hogs in the province, has announced its new board lineup for 2025. As a Guelph, Ontario-headquartered organization, Ontario Pork is engaged in the areas of research, government representation,... Read this article online