Tomato growers win provincial award Sunday, April 11, 2010 by SUSAN MANNWhen Leamington-area processing tomato growers started working out a pipeline system to bring Lake Erie water to their fields they never dreamed that one day they’d be accepting a $100,000 prize.Leamington Area Drip Irrigation Inc. received the money Monday for winning the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence. It was presented during the sixth annual Premier’s Summit on Agri-Food in Toronto.The Minister’s Award of $50,000 was given to Tigchelaar Berry Farms for adopting a new production technique so they can provide fresh Ontario strawberries to consumers for almost six months of the year. Fifty-five regional winners will get $5,000 each and they’ll be announced at regional award ceremonies this spring. The Tigchelaars couldn’t be reached for comment before the deadline for this posting.Wayne Palichuk, chairman of Leamington Area Drip Irrigation Inc., says when Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell called a week ago and told him they had won he was really shocked. “It is quite an honour.”The Municipality of Leamington nominated them for the award.Palichuk says they’ll use the money to improve the system. “We are looking into telemetry, which would help us monitor our flows and our water usage on the crops so we can be more competitive.”Telemetry is transmitting readings to a distant receiving set or station. Palichuk says once the system is in place the 15 farmer members of Leamington Area Drip Irrigation will be able to access information about how much water they’re using through the Internet.He says this would be a way to help monitor the water flow and ensure they don’t exceed their water-taking permit. Leamington Area Drip Irrigation started pumping water in April, 2009 through a 36-kilometre pipeline that irrigates 2,500 acres of mainly processing tomatoes. The system is capable of pumping up to 7,000 gallons a minute.The Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence has attracted more than 700 applications since 2007. The five-year, 2.5-million award program was established to recognize innovators who contribute to the Ontario agri-food industry’s success. BF Ontario packer readies for major expansion Milk temperature becomes an issue
Inside the Collapse of Monette Farms and What It Signals for Big Agriculture Friday, May 8, 2026 The restructuring of Monette Farms is raising hard questions about how large is too large in modern agriculture—and whether today’s risk tools are keeping up. (Read the article: Monette Farms Seeks Court Protection as Mega-Farm Restructures Amid Financial Pressures) For years, Monette... Read this article online
Ontario Grain Farmers Open 2026 Legacy Scholarship Friday, May 8, 2026 Applications are now open for the 2026 Grain Farmers of Ontario Legacy Scholarship which supports students pursuingpost-secondaryeducation related to the future of Ontario’s grain andagrifood industry. The program aims to encourage education and leadership development among young people... Read this article online
Grain Bin Emergencies Turn Deadly in Seconds, but Training Can Save Lives Thursday, May 7, 2026 Would you know what to do if someone you loved was trapped in a grain bin? The reality is sobering. Compared to a flowing mass of grain, a person is only several bushels in volume. When grain begins moving, escape becomes nearly impossible. In most cases of full grain engulfment,... Read this article online
Applications open for GFO 2026 Legacy Scholarship Thursday, May 7, 2026 Applications are now open for the 2026 Grain Farmers of Ontario , an annual program designed to support students pursuing post‑secondary education that contributes to the future of the province’s grain and agri‑food industries. Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) represents 28,000... Read this article online
Farmland Rents Lag Land Values Thursday, May 7, 2026 Farm Credit Canada (FCC) has released a new economic analysis highlighting a growing gap between farmland values and rental rates across the country, a trend that will likely reshape expansion decisions for Canadian producers. According to the analysis, Canada’s average farmland... Read this article online