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Province investing in Northeastern Ontario agriculture

Northeastern Ontario’s agriculture industry is the beneficiary of some provincial funding. The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is investing $175,000 in three projects in the Algoma region.
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Northeastern Ontario’s agriculture industry is the beneficiary of some provincial funding.

Northeastern Ontario’s agriculture industry is the beneficiary of some provincial funding.

The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) is investing $175,000 in three projects in the Algoma region.

The Northern Ontario Garlic Farm is receiving $106,000 to establish a garlic farm on St. Joseph's Island. 

Burt Farm Country Meats in Gore Bay is receiving $44,000 to expand its operations, including the purchase of sausage-processing equipment.

Big Point Farm in Hilton Beach received $25,000 to establish a sustainable farm operation selling local produce.

The province additionally announced the NOHFC was providing $43,256 to FarmStart to conduct workshops and on-farm apprenticeship programs to help new farmers increase their knowledge and productivity. Business training courses will be offered to help new farm owners manage their operations effectively during the crucial startup years.

FarmStart will also promote the availability of affordable farmland to help attract new farmers to the region from across the province.

“FarmStart encourages and supports a new generation of entrepreneurial ecological farmers by connecting them with the training and resources to get their farm businesses off the ground and to thrive,” said Allison Muckle, project coordinator and a Sudbury-area producer, in a news release. “We thank the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation for investing in a project that will help new farmers in the Northeast succeed.”

The 2011 data from Statistics Canada shows that there were 1,847 farms in the Northeast on a total of about 722,000 acres.