Telling Ontario’s edible hort story

Oct 23, 2024

Many of you may have noticed that the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) has been much more vocal in our public-facing communications about our sector. This is driven by increased public and media scrutiny of agriculture and food production, as well as the need for broader general understanding of where food comes from, how it’s produced and why it’s so important that we don’t lose the ability to feed ourselves.

Our efforts take a two-pronged approach, focusing both specifically on labour and more broadly on domestic food production and sustainability. Here’s an overview of what we’ve been up to this year on both fronts.

More than a Migrant Worker

This initiative specifically shines a light on the importance of seasonal and temporary foreign workers to our sector and to Canadian food production. Launched in 2021, MTAMW empowers international farm workers in Ontario to tell their own stories in their own words about why they come to Canada to earn a living.

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Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.