Events and Updates
Only Two Spots Left for OAFVC Tour
If you've ever considered expanding your business to include value-added production, then join us for this free, guided tour of the brand new Ontario Agri Food Venture Centre (OAFVC), where you'll hear about the services available to help you extend the seasonality of your products.
When: Tuesday May 26, 2015 | 10:30AM - 11:30AM
Where: 116 Industrial Park Rd North Colborne, ON
Designed with farmers in mind, the Ontario Agri Food Venture Centre (OAFVC) will support fresh fruit and vegetable value-adding opportunties to increase farm revenue. The facility will also help foodies with recipe development, and staff will work with food processing start-up companies and expansions in Ontario progress Research and Development, test batch and facilitate small batch co-packing.
To register, head to www.oafvc.eventbrite.ca. There are only two spots left on this tour, so if you're interested in joining us, make sure to get your name on the list quickly!
Local Dairy Products Now Available On-Campus
A collaborative effort between Farms at Work, the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Chartwells Education Dining Services, and Trent University has resulted in the on-campus availability of dairy products from right here in east central Ontario. In 2013, when the University put out a Request for Proposals for a five year food services contract, Trent was ahead of the pack by making increased procurement of local food a priority.
The contract was awarded in 2014 to Chartwells Education Dining Services, and specified that 50% of the food would be Ontario-grown, 35% of which must be sourced within 250km, and 2% of which must be sourced from within the Kawartha Region.
Looking for Land, Interns or a Local Buy & Sell?
Then head on over to our website to check out the many listings posted on Find Farmland, Jobs & Internships, and the Trading Post! Whether you're looking to rent some land to start your first farm enterprise, are in need of some on-farm labour for the crunch of the upcoming planting season, or are looking to buy, sell or trade farm equipment or inputs, farmsatwork.ca is a great place to make connections and get the word out.
FAW Mentorship Programs Off to a Great Start
Mentees in our on-farm mentorship programs have all been out in the field recently, with the kick off of our 2015 mentorship season. So far in the last month, we've held field days for the returning Beekeeping and Sheep Farming Mentorship programs, as well as the newly launched Pasture Management Mentorship program.
These curriculum-based, multi-day programs provide mentees with hands-on training from expert farmer-mentors in a small group setting over the course of the farming season. Each program allows for the efficient transfer of commodity-specifc knowledge in the following areas:
- On-farm production systems
- Practical skills and techniques
- Business planning
- Financial management
If you'd like to learn more, visit our Mentorships Program page, where you can find out all about the Beekeeping, Sheep Farming, and Pasture Management Mentorships, as well as our upcoming Maple Syrup Production Mentorship (beginning in the fall of 2015).