[TWEED] The Premier’s Agri-Food Innovation Excellence awards, held on Friday, June 5th, 2009 in Tweed, gave recognition to the Ontario Lamb Improvement Breeding Strategy Replicating Breeder’s Association located in Norwood. This event honoured local winners of the province’s regional awards for innovation excellence. Fifty-five events across the province are recognizing 55 regional award winners, who are receiving $5,000 each for their innovations.
Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Honourable Leona Dombrowsky presented the award to John and Eadie Steele who accepted on behalf of the Association. Recognizing that Ontario consumers have consistently demanded twice as much home grown Ontario lamb as the industry has been capable of supplying, this innovator developed a standardized systems approach to produce large numbers of uniform sheep breeding stock. This has helped the operation grow from a flock of 200 ewes to more than 2,400 in eight years. In addition to developing the system, a marketing strategy has also evolved which is helping to educate commercial sheep producers who are interested in growing their breeding stock and maximizing their bottom line.
“We’re proud to have agricultural innovators of this caliber working in our region,” Renato Romanin, GPA EDC Director, Agriculture and Rural acknowledged. “It is always exciting to learn that a local company has taken the initiative to expand their market and we are glad that they have been recognized for their efforts.”
Representatives from the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation (GPA EDC) and the Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster attended the event and extend their congratulations to the association for their achievement.
