Job Opening at Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station

Agricultural Technician Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station (LUARS) Thunder Bay, Ontario 8 Month Contract – April to November, 2024 (Possibility of Renewal) Competition # GEN-24-.. The Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station (LUARS) is seeking a contract Agricultural Technician to join their team. The duties include but are not limited to: Establish, maintain, and harvest agricultural research plots including the following …

In the news: Local agri-food producers to benefit from $450k in federal funding

The FedNor funding will offer support for agri-food producers and entrepreneurs and help make full use of the commercial kitchen space at Harvest Algoma By Kenneth Armstrong, SooToday October 12, 2023 Federal funding was announced Thursday to help activate the commercial kitchen space at the Harvest Algoma Food Resource Centre on Second Line, just one week after it was taken …

Weston Foundation awards $1 Million to Northern Collaborators on Berry Production Research

Spoiler Alert…RAIN is a Collaborator! In a remarkable recognition of innovation and collaborative prowess, the Weston Foundation’s Homegrown Innovation Challenge has provided a game-changing grant of $1,000,000 to 11 teams who are “future-proofing food production in Canada”. At the forefront of this groundbreaking endeavor is the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre’s RAIN (Rural Agri-Innovation Network) division, and partners Collège Boréal, …

9 SEO Strategies to Drive Agri-Food Online Sales

The New Era of E-commerce for Small Business For small business owners, the Internet can be one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to market your business and sell products or services.  Since the COVID-19 pandemic, shopping habits have changed dramatically with e-commerce, or online shopping, seeing a huge surge over the past three years (E-Commerce Sales Surged During …

BLOSSOMING FRESH CUT FLOWERS IN THE NORTH 

[L’article en français suit ci-dessous] Demand for locally grown cut flowers is growing, and Ontario’s local cut flower industry is growing alongside it.  The floriculture industry is divided into bedding/spring plants, potted flowering/foliage plants, and cut flowers.  The flower industry in Ontario accounts for $800 million in sales and half of that gets shipped to the United States.    Ontario flower …

Boosting Northern Ontario Seed Production

[L’article en français suit ci-dessous] The climate crisis and rising grocery store prices are increasing uncertainty for consumers. This situation is driving more and more people to grow their own food and plant native plants to restore ecological habitats. Concurrently, farmers in the north are becoming more invested in seed cultivation due to its potential environmental benefits and market need.   …

Seeding Success: A Fresh Look at Cover Crops and Corn in Northern Ontario

The Challenge- What if you could turn the challenge of Northern Ontario’s short growing season into an opportunity for optimizing cover crop integration? That’s what RAIN’s new research project aims to achieve. This project will investigate the potential of interseeding early cover crops into silage corn in northern Ontario, where conventional cover crops are often limited due to the short …

Empowering Agri-Food Enterprises

Today, we want to talk about a powerhouse making a difference in Northern Ontario’s agri-food sector: The Fair Finance Fund (FFF). Since 2018, the FFF has been mobilizing accessible and equitable capital, providing loans, and investing in small to medium-sized food and farm businesses, particularly those operating in Northern Ontario. The Rural Agri-Innovation Network (RAIN) was one of the founders …