Agriculture

2019-2021

Agriculture Sector Initiative (A.S.I)

Agriculture Sector is new for the Greenstone Region so there is no baseline information to draw from which is leading to an extensive research and information gathering stage for the A.S.I. Although there are some agriculture themed concepts in our 2016 “New Ideas Business Report” there is still the need for a preliminary study and research to be done before we can identify possibilities for the Greenstone Region. GEDC started an Agriculture Study aimed to provide this preliminary information; in the meantime, GEDC will continue to probe for stories on local endeavours and existing activities.

Agriculture Study

The study is in-progress and will be the first of its kind in Greenstone! This sector has proven to be challenging for this area, and we hope to provide some information to those who inquired about this sector and encouraged us to pursue it. Stay tuned for updates!

Attention Entrepreneurs and Hobbyists…

Have a greenhouse and want to expand? GEDC can help via business financing...
Have a hobby farm and need to get word out there? Call us today.
Have potatoes, carrots etc. for sale? Call us we want to know
Help us let the public know what’s available…eggs, chaga tea, vegetables, preserves, plants...

As part of our information gathering and research stage we will be publishing a quarterly story on local / regional services available in Greenstone Want your story in the next Newsletter? Call 807-854-2273 or email info@gedc.ca

2017-2018

Agriculture Sector Initiative

Over the last year GEDC has been approached by several interested parties looking for information on the Agriculture Sector and possibilities in the Greenstone area. As a result we approached Ms. Kendal Donahue, Ontario Agriculture Development Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Thunder Bay, to do a presentation at our 2018 AGM. The presentation discussed the steps that stakeholders can take to gain further insight on this sector and spoke about other projects in the North.

Our objective is to increase public awareness and encourage agriculture sector business development in the Greenstone region; this will be done through the assistance and guidance of OMAFRA and in collaboration with the Municipality of Greenstone. We launched an agriculture information page on our website to assist those interested in agricultural ventures. There are currently some hobbyists / home based businesses in this sector in Greenstone. GEDC is presently gathering information and researching agricultural potential in Greenstone. Stay tuned for updates!

Below are links to Ms. Donahue's presentation, Agriculture Economic Development Guide and Northern Ontario Agri-Food Strategy:

Presentation
Developing Agriculture Potential

Agriculture Economic Development Guide
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/landuse/aed.pdf

Northern Ontario Agri-Food Strategy
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/northernagrifood/noas.htm

Additional Resources:

Starting a Farm in Northern Ontario Course
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/northernagrifood/ed.htm

Starting a Farm in Ontario - Business Information Bundle for New Farmers
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/newentrant/newent.htm

OMAFRA Field Crop News

OMAFRA crop specialists provide great information at: https://fieldcropnews.com/

AgMaps

An online application that allows you to create custom maps and find agricultural information for Ontario, combining agricultural data on soils and drainage, as well as data layers from other Government of Ontario ministries.

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/landuse/gis/portal.htm

Farmnorth.com

The website for all things agriculture in the north, hosted by Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA): https://www.nofia-agri.com/

Farm Credit Canada

A federal Crown corporation that lends money and provides other services to primary producers, agri-food operations and agribusinesses that provide inputs or add value to agriculture.

https://www.fcc-fac.ca/en.html

AgriCorp

Farm Business Registration

To register a farm business and get a Farm Business Registration (FBR) number, contact fbr@agricorp.com or call Agricorp at 1-866-327-3678

Information on FBR, the Farm Tax Program and other AgriCorp services at: www.agricorp.com

Thunder Bay Food and Area Food Strategy

The Thunder Bay and Area Food Strategy (TBAFS) has created a digital directory that connects consumers to producers, restaurants and merchants.

Thunder Bay and Area Food Strategy Website (English only) http://tbfoodstrategy.com/

TBAFS digital directory (English only) https://tbayinseason.ca/

Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA)

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, proudly representing 38,000 farm family members across the province, visit website for more information https://ofa.on.ca/

March 2021