Agriculture & Rural Economic Development Newsletter
September 2020 | Volume 9, Issue 5
|
|
In This Issue:
- Beaverton Metal Works Celebrates 55 Years in Business!
- Pingles Farm Market fun and fresh food tradition
- Regional ICON Broadband Application to improve broadband access
- Three ways to support local in Durham Region
- Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands - Funding Intake Opening September 8
- Agro-Climate Impact Reporter Network
- Regional Cycling Plan Update 2020 Survey
- Township of Brock establishing Tourism and Economic Development Advisory Committees
- Digital Main Street programs and funding available to help Durham Region businesses go digital
- Funding to help Ontario Food Processors become more Competitive and Innovative
- Funding for Agricultural and Horticultural Societies
- Call for Nominations to the Durham Farm Connections Celebrate Agriculture Awards
- Halenda's Peperoni Stix Fundraiser
- Always in Season: A Toolkit for Local Food Practitioners
- Clarington's Agriculture Resource Website
- Clarington's Ward Boundary Review
- Farm 911 Project
- Feeding your Future: Agriculture and agri-business employment support
- Community employment services supports
- Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre
- Durham Farm Fresh Webinar Recordings
- Follow Durham AgRural on Twitter!
- Upcoming Events
|
|
Beaverton Metal Works Celebrates 55 Years in Business! |
|
Congratulations to the Drake family, owners of Beaverton Metal Works Ltd, as they celebrate 55 years in business this year. Located in the Township of Brock, Beaverton Metal Works offers their customers high-quality custom metal fabrication services, products and repairs. The business opened in 1965 and has expanded significantly over the years leading to two new spin-off business ventures, Beaverton Self Storage and the Welder’s Wife.
|
|
Pingles Farm Market's fun and fresh food tradition |
|
The 33-year fun and fresh food tradition of Pingle’s Farm Market continues under new ownership. This Clarington year-round farm market supplies one hundred per cent Canadian groceries to their customers along with a wide selection of locally grown foods. Pingle’s hosts enjoyable experiences on the farm including pick-your-own apples, sunflower fields, pumpkin patches and the favourite Pingle’s corn maze! Learn more about what they have to offer at Pingle's Farm Market!
|
|
Regional ICON Broadband Application to improve broadband access |
|
Durham Region has recently applied for the provincial ICON (Improving Connectivity for Ontario) funding program to improve broadband access in our rural communities. Durham is proposing a project that will bring highspeed fiber optic cables to our rural communities and establish points of connection for ISPs to provide high speed internet connections.
This application has been supported by the Durham Agricultural Advisory Committee, Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington and the Durham Region Federation of Agriculture.
|
|
Three ways to support local in Durham Region |
|
1) Visit InvestDurham.ca/localfood to find a directory of local food businesses, craft beverages, farmers markets and more. Sort by type of farm, location and search the interactive farm map available from Durham Farm Fresh.
2) Visit DowntownsOfDurham.ca and re-discover shopping in your own backyard. With a directory of the stores located in the downtowns across Durham, the options for take-out, local craft beverages, retail shopping and more are endless.
3) Visit InvestDurham.ca/safetyandppe to find a marketplace of local companies supplying personal protective equipment (PPE) and other safety supplies.
|
|
Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands - Pending Intake Opening September |
|
Through a partnership with the Ontario Social and Crop Improvement Association, the Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands (SARPAL) is focused on working with farmers to support the recovery of species at risk on agricultural lands. The SARPAL is part of the Environment and Climate Change Canada Initiative, farmers or agricultural landowners can receive up to 50 per cent of eligible project implementation costs. The intake opens on September 8 and closes on September 22 (or until funds run out). Learn more about the SARPAL program.
|
|
Agro-Climate Impact Reporter Network |
The Agro-Climate Impact Reporter (AIR) is a network of volunteers who provide information on agro-climate impacts across the country. The network aims to connect Agriculture Agri-food Canada with people in the agriculture community across Canada. The data collected in the AIR is used to inform policies and programs such as AgriRecovery. Throughout the growing season (April to October), a survey is available on the last week of the month to collect weather and climate impacts on farm operations. Learn more about the AIR Network.
|
|
Regional Cycling Plan Update 2020 Survey |
|
Township of Brock is establishing Tourism and Economic Development Advisory Committees |
|
The Council of the Township of Brock has approved the establishment of a Tourism Advisory Committee and an Economic Development Advisory Committee to advise Council on initiatives and programs that will support economic development and tourism across the township. Individuals interested in being on either committee can submit an online application form by September 9.
|
|
Downtown Revitalization Plan Underway in Uxbridge with support from the Rural Economic Development Program |
|
On August 13, the Township of Uxbridge received funding to launch a Downtown Revitalization Project! The project will create a downtown revitalization plan to improve the overall well-being of downtown Uxbridge that will attract investment, create jobs, and boost economic development.
The Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board and the Hon. Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs visited Uxbridge to announce funding of up to $100,000 under the Ontario Rural Economic Development (RED) program; noting that creating more ways to strengthen rural economies is part of the Province's plan to build Ontario together.
The Region of Durham and the Uxbridge BIA are partners with the Township of Uxbridge for this exciting project.
|
|
Digital Mainstreet programs and funding available to help Durham Region businesses go digital |
|
Digital Main Street (DMS) is offering a suite of programs to help small, independently owned businesses increase their digital presence:
1) ShopHERE: helping businesses build and optimize their online stores.
2) Ontario Grants: online training, access to funds of $2,500 and digital service squads help businesses increase their digital presence.
3) Future Proof: helps businesses identify new markets, pivot their business models and implement a deep digital transformation plan.
|
|
Funding to help Ontario Food Processors become more Competitive and Innovative |
|
The Federal and Provincial Governments committed over $5.4 million to help food processing businesses increase productivity, access markets and improve safety through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Learn more.
|
|
Funding for Agricultural and Horticultural Societies |
|
The Federal and Provincial Governments committed over $5.4 million to help food processing businesses increase productivity, access markets and improve safety through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Learn more.
|
|
Call for Nominations to the Durham Farm Connections Celebrate Agriculture Awards |
|
Durham Farm Connections is excited to celebrate and recognize the excellence in our agricultural communities. Even though the Celebrate Agriculture Gala is cancelled for this fall, the awards will continue. Durham Farm Connections is seeking nominations for the Farm Family Award, Spirit of Agriculture Award, and Leadership Award. Join us in continuing the celebration of our great agriculture community members by making a nomination. Nominations are due on September 30. Email info@durhamfarmconnections.ca to request the nomination form.
|
|
Halenda's Pepperoni Stix Fundraiser |
|
Halenda’s Meats, based in Oshawa, is running a province-wide Pepperoni Stix fundraising program for community members and organizations. Local non-profits and organizations are an important part of our community and Halenda’s Meats is happy to help with their fundraising initiatives. The Pepperoni Stix fundraiser has been adapted with new business practices to meet the challenges of COVID-19. The program includes outlines for how to raise money safely. For more details, visit HalendasFundraising.com.
|
|
Always in Season: A toolkit for Local Food Practitioners |
|
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture has created a resource for local food operators, communities and food and beverage processors to use as a guide to promote and support the local food economy. To view the available tools, templates and events to participate in, visit ofa.on.ca/AlwaysInSeason.
|
|
Clarington's Agriculture Resource Website |
|
The Municipality of Clarington has created an online list of agricultural resources, including employment, funding, industry news, accessing local food and more. This is a one-stop shop for Clarington farmers to stay up to date with the most current resources and information. Check it out!
|
|
Clarington's Ward Boundary Review |
|
The Municipality of Clarington is reviewing their current ward structure to ensure all voices are fairly represented at Council. Input is being gathered through public consultations and surveys along with working with a consultant to assess whether there is a need to restructure Clarington's wards. Changes would be in effect for the 2022 election year. For more information, visit engageclarington.ca/WardBoundaryReview.
|
|
Durham Region is supporting the Farm 911 Project, which will help to fund 911 signage on vacant rural properties or secondary property entrances. Implementation of this project will begin in 2020-2021. The Region recognizes the importance of farm safety and is committed to raising awareness around the project and farm safety.
|
|
Feeding your Future: Agriculture and agri-business employment support |
|
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Ag Careers.com and Careers in Food have partnered to create the Feeding your Future campaign. This project offers free job boards, job matching services, virtual career fairs, employment support and workshops for farmers and businesses looking for jobs or looking to hire.
The goal of the service is to help fill job shortages in the agriculture sector, improve employee retention and encourage job seekers to build meaningful careers in the agriculture industry.
|
|
Durham College Community Employment Services support agriculture |
|
If you are looking to hire staff, contact Durham College Community Employment Services. They have a free job board to post job ads; consultants who can help find the right candidates for the job; and programs to help cover the costs of training. Take advantage of this great, free Durham employment resource.
|
|
Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre offers resources for local food entrepreneurs |
|
The Ontario Agri-food Venture Centre, located east of Clarington, offers small batch fruit and vegetable processing for farmers to add value to their products. They have lots of equipment available from washing and cutting, to freezing and packaging, to storage and testing in the commercial kitchen. For a full list of available equipment, facilities and booking dates, visit oafvc.ca.
|
|
Webinar recordings available on Durham Farm Fresh YouTube channel |
|
Durham Farm Fresh and Invest Durham have been working together to deliver webinars to support farmers in operating their business in this ever-changing environment.
The webinar recordings are available on the Durham Farm Fresh YouTube channel:
|
|
Follow Durham AgRural on Twitter! |
|
For more frequent updates on Durham Region success stories, resources, local news, fun facts and more, follow the Agriculture and Rural Economic Development team on Twitter @DurhamAgRural. #DurhamAg
|
|
Agri-Food Webinar Series: COVID-19 Business Recovery Accelerator
York Region is offering a webinar series for small food and beverage processors to learn about practical solutions and strategies to recover from COVID-19. A series of four online modules will be offered between September 19 and October 7. Find out more and register online.
|
|
Contact Us
Toll-free: 1-800-706-9857
As a contact of the Region of Durham's Planning and Economic Development Department, you have been added to our mailing list. If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, please use the unsubscribe link located at the bottom of this e-newsletter.
If this information is required in an accessible format, please contact the Planning and Economic Development Department at 905-668-7711 ext. 2609 (toll-free at 1-800-706-9857).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
