FCC and Western Fair District partner to create Innovation Farms Ontario

A long-term partnership between Farm Credit Canada (FCC)  and Western Fair District aims to deliver the knowledge, innovation and research Canadian producers can use to complement their own expertise in the advancement of their farming and food businesses.

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The partnership announcement includes new on-farm research called Innovation Farms Ontario powered by AgExpert, located at Haggerty Creek near Bothwell, Ontario. This research farm is part of a network of Canadian demonstration farms where innovative, emerging technology is developed and tested. The results and benefits of different technologies in the emerging agriculture robotics and automation industry are shared with producers to optimize current farming practices and future decisions.

“Practical research and on-farm testing on new technologies such as automation, robotics and sustainability innovations will help farmers confidently adopt new systems with less risk,” said Chuck Baresich, president of Haggerty Creek Farms.

He said support from FCC “will allow us to tap into incredible potential that will increase productivity for producers and provide them with the ability to put their labour into high value work.

 “The new resources complement the great research we have conducted with OMAFRA and the AgRobotics Working Group.”

Including FCC’s farm management software, AgExpert, in the name and on the farm, signals the value both Western Fair and FCC place on growing Canada’s digital agriculture system, the organizations said in a release.  The 2,000+ acre full-scale production innovation farm will use AgExpert software as part of its testing, research, and technology development.

This partnership will also support The Grove at Western Fair District, a growing agriculture and food business innovation hub that is already home to 32 companies. The Grove offers a range of resources to support food processors and businesses to access the startup funds and tools they need to begin scaling their businesses.

“This partnership allows us to level-up what we offer at the Grove from ag-tech to education, funding and practical space for businesses,” said James Smith, director of agri-food at Western Fair District, in a release.  “A great example is supporting startups and food processing companies through an incubation stage where you can rent kitchens and food processing space that were built to CFIA standards.”

“They can produce more, get to a larger audience and a point where they can start to think about building or renting their own square footage where we can help them design and grow into that space.”