Province helps mushroom farm expansion Monday, July 4, 2011 by BETTER FARMING STAFFA mushroom grower with several facilities across Ontario is spending $9.9 million to expand production.Greenwood Mushroom Farm began construction of a new processing plant on property near Port Perry in the spring. October is the target for completion. The 115,000 square foot plant is an addition to existing processing capacity.“We’re running on a very tight construction schedule,” says Clay Taylor, the company’s managing partner.Improvements include adding European technology to help expand the company’s line of value-added products, such as triple-washed sliced mushrooms ready to use, organic varieties, cremini and Portabella mushrooms. The new equipment and plant will increase production by eight to 10 million pounds and introduce labour and energy efficiencies. “This will increase sales by about $15 million a year,” Taylor says. He declines to reveal the company’s current sales volume for competitive reasons.Taylor says there is a “significant” increase in demand for mushroom products within recent years. “I’m just out of room. I need more production and processing capacity in order to meet what’s going on.” With their high vitamin D content, mushrooms are now viewed as a super food. “That’s really spurred consumption,” he says. So has the fact that they are locally available year-round and can be used many different ways in food preparation.On Tuesday, the province announced that it would grant $3.1 million to the expansion under the Rural Economic Development Program. Taylor says the company is also introducing new technology to stabilize and control the preparation of the compost in which the mushrooms grow. Ultimately, the improvement means, “we can maximize the yield results,” he says. The company supplies mushrooms to the Ontario and Eastern Canada markets under the Windmill Farms brand. “We deal with all the major chains; we do private labels for several as well,” Taylor says. BF Ontario's independent poultry processors want voice on industry committee Companies ordered to pay up
Applications Open for Grains Innovation Fund 2026 Thursday, July 24, 2025 Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), the province’s largest commodity organization representing 28,000 farmers, is now accepting applications for the 2026 Grains Innovation Fund. The fund offers grants up to $75,000 to support innovative projects that promote the use of Ontario’s grains such as... Read this article online
Bruce County Hosts Animal Rescue Training Thursday, July 24, 2025 Under hot and humid July weather, firefighters from Bruce County and nearby areas gathered in Mildmay, Ontario, for special training in large animal emergency rescue. This hands-on session was organized by Equine Guelph and supported by the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture (BCFA). It... Read this article online
2026 Grains Innovation Fund is now open Thursday, July 24, 2025 Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO), the province’s largest commodity organization representing Ontario’s 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean, and wheat farmers, is now accepting applications for its . “This year marks another exciting chapter for the Grains Innovation Fund,” stated Paul... Read this article online
Lactalis closing beverage plant in Sudbury Tuesday, July 22, 2025 Lactalis is closing its plant-based beverage processing plant in Sudbury. The company, which includes brands like Balderson, Astro, and Beatrice, reopened the plant in June 2024 after closing it in 2022 to convert it to a facility focusing on plant-based beverages like those in its Enjoy!... Read this article online
Fusarium And Sprouting Alert for Wheat Tuesday, July 22, 2025 As reported on the OMAFRA website fieldcropnews.com, Ontario wheat farmers face growing concerns over fusarium head blight (FHB) and harvest timing this season. Frequent rains in many areas – with more to come - are increasing fusarium risk, threatening yield and grain quality. FHB... Read this article online