There’s a refreshing research project taking root across Ontario that’s set to help grow Ontario’s craft cider industry. University of Guelph researcher John Cline is beginning the third phase of his three-part project that will help build sustainable, value-add opportunities for Ontario’s agri-food sector.
After 10 years of working in the family business, Cassandra Loomans, B.Comm. ’07, is preparing to take the lead.
Many OAC alumni families are working through the difficult process of passing down farmland, ownership of a business or leadership of a company. Succession planning may be awkward at times, but when the two generations (or sometimes three) do it right, the process benefits everyone.
It’s an old saying that holds true for the Chudleigh family. This story of third-generation apple entrepreneurs started in 1939 when Eric and Marion Chudleigh began apple farming in Dixie, ON. Eric imported a new experimental apple rootstock from England and started propagating trees that were size controlled by the rootstock.
For some, farming is in their genes and every career path seems to always end up leading back to the land. Joe Maxwell comes from a long line of farmers who immigrated to Canada from England in 1854. He grew up working on his parents’ farm in Bruce County and in 1947 he left to attend the Ontario Agricultural College. By the time he graduated in 1951, he wanted to go his own way and had no desire to return to the farm.
A lot has happened in the past 100 years. From the first electric can opener to the first mobile phone, the human population has continually innovated and improved upon products of the past. However, to have something last 100 years is an uncommon feat.
You may not think of hazelnuts as a local food, but researchers at the University of Guelph are working to make hazelnuts just as “Ontarian” as strawberries, asparagus and peaches. Hazelnuts could soon be added to the long list of Ontario produce available to consumers who are looking to buy and eat local.
Rural communities are experiencing a drastic shift in their populations as more and more people choose to move to urban areas in search of employment. This shift presents significant challenges to the survival of those rural communities. However, the development of an Ontario hazelnut industry could help these communities to survive.
The establishment of an Ontario hazelnut industry would enhance the agricultural product offerings of Ontario, and also create many much-needed jobs in rural communities. However, there are also many environmental benefits that hazelnut production can offer Ontario.
When you hear the world “truffle” what comes to mind? Some might think of a chocolate treat, but for Charles Shearer, a master’s student in the Department of Plant Agriculture, he thinks of a mushroom with great potential for intercropping in hazelnut orchards.
Adam Dale, college professor emeritus in the Department of Plant Agriculture, has been making headlines for his research on bringing hazelnut production to Ontario. Together with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and the Ontario Hazelnut Association, Adam is helping to establish an Ontario hazelnut industry through his efforts to determine the most productive tree varieties for the province.