Ontario provides $20,000 to Durham agricultural and horticulture societies

Apr 11, 2022

Monies provided through the province’s Agricultural and Horticultural Support and Recovery Funding Initiative.

By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com; Image via the Port Perry Agricultural Society

Ontario has invested $20,000 to help the agricultural and horticultural societies of Durham County.

The province’s Agricultural and Horticultural Support and Recovery Funding Initiative is providing $9386.28 to the Brooklin Agricultural Society, $6,044.20 to the Port Perry Agricultural Society, $1,312.84 to the Blackstock Agricultural Society, and $1,000 each to the Oshawa Garden Club, Pine Ridge Garden Club, and the Brooklin Horticultural Society.

The Ontario government explained that the money is to provide operational and support help to the organizations to continue educating the public about the value and significance of agriculture in the province.

“This additional support arrives as Covid-19 continues to place financial pressures on agricultural and horticultural societies across the province,” explained Whitby MPP Lorne Coe through a statement announcing the funding. “Supporting our rich agricultural and horticultural traditions is important to maintaining the economic fabric of communities like Brooklin and their contributions to the Region of Durham’s economic recovery.”

The base support funding via the Agricultural and Horticultural Support and Recovery Funding Initiative is issued to all eligible agricultural and horticultural societies through funding payments of $1,000 as a means of supporting continued incorporation and activities; and through the hardship funding, any eligible ag societies can receive support based on reported gate revenues for 2019 which in itself can be used to cover operating losses, liabilities and/or fixed overhead costs related to land and buildings.

“Agricultural and horticultural societies play a critical role in educating Ontarians on the importance of agriculture and celebrating a rural way of life. Supporting this important sector, at this time, will ensure the long traditions and economic contributions of the societies will continue and strengthen as the province manages the impacts of Covid-19 and moves forward into the future,” the press release stated.

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.