Feds Support Apple ‘Chips’ Venture

Jul 06, 2012

Martin’s Fruit Farm gets Funding for New Plant

Martin’s Family Fruit Farm will produce apple “chips” thanks to a $3 million dollar loan from the Canadian federal government to help build a new plant in Elmira, Ont. Once the plant begins to make a profit the loan will be repaid says Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. The loan is made possible through the government’s Agricultural Innovation Program.

“This project is a great example of what we’re trying to achieve,” says Ritz. “It’s a product sure to be popular with today’s health conscious consumer” says Ritz.

Not only will the loan add value to the Martin’s family business by giving them an opportunity to diversify and access to new markets, but it will also create 30 full-time jobs. The Martin’s run a 750 acre operation and their facility supports over 40 other Ontario apple growers in the region.

This week the workers broke ground for the 17, 000 square foot facility projected to be completed before December of this year and Kevin Martin couldn’t be more pleased with the commitment made by the government “it’s a market that needs to be created,” he says. “We’re going to be expending some serious energy over the next several months in branding and marketing.

The announcement comes as the Martin’s along with many other apple producers were left with only 15 to 20 per cent of their crop that survived the frost.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.