At the farm show, Ontario Agriculture Minister Lisa Thompson admired the model railroad display that stretched along one wall of the Earlton Recreation Centre’s upstairs hall. The expanding display is the creation of railway fans Andrew Hirst, above, Bryan Edwards and Marc Leveille. (Staff photo by Diane Johnston) Diane Johnston
Speaker Reporter
EARLTON – “We’re going to keep growing our agricultural industry,” said Ontario’s agriculture minister on a visit to the Earlton Farm Show last week.
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Lisa Thompson also came bearing funds.
Thompson announced $100,000 for the Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA), headquartered in Temiskaming Shores, to study and expand the network of agriculture-related producers, processors, distributors, procurers and consumers in the region.
The project focuses on expanding the use of local foods across Northern Ontario, including remote communities.
It’s expected to create a directory of food producers, a best practice guide for local food procurement in remote communities, and marketing support to increase consumption and availability of local food.
It’s will also produce resources to support food literacy in the region and enable business-to-business meetings and tours to encourage new market opportunities.
It is spending “that’s going to matter,” Thompson said.
Thompson also highlighted support for agriculture included in the recent provincial budget.
It takes action on the crisis in veterinary care, she said.
To address the shortage of vets, the province is adding 20 student spaces through a new collaborative doctor of veterinary medicine program at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and the University of Guelph.
“This is an amazing partnership,” Thompson said April 15.
“You usually stay where you learn, and so for the first two years of the veterinary program, students will learn at Lakehead in Northern Ontario and for their final two years they’ll go down to Guelph.”
Needed in particular are large-animal vets, she said.
As an incentive, she said the province will offer livestock vets who establish practices in Northern Ontario and under-serviced areas $10,000 annually for five years.
The province is also investing $9.5 million to update soil maps.
She noted that some existing maps date back to the 1920s.
“That’s not acceptable as we move forward and embrace precision agriculture,” she said.