Governments investing in Ontario’s maple syrup sector

Sep 26, 2023

Canada and Ontario providing up to $1 million to boost production

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $1 million over 2 years through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) to support productivity and growth in the province’s maple syrup sector.

The Maple Production Improvement Initiative will provide eligible maple syrup producers access to cost-shared funding to support a range of activities to enhance their operations. Project costs can be applied retroactively to April 1, 2023, when Sustainable CAP officially launched.

Under the Maple Production Improvement Initiative, applicants can receive up to 50% cost-share funding for eligible costs, to a maximum of $20,000 per project.

Eligible businesses can apply for support through this program starting on November 9, 2023. The initiative will support the purchase and installation of upgraded production equipment for eligible syrup producers, that increase productivity, efficiency and growth, such as reverse osmosis or remote monitoring systems. It will also provide funding to cover a portion of certain woodlot management activities, including tree marking and the development of a forest plan, to assist the operation of eligible businesses.

This initiative was developed following discussions with sector businesses. It builds on other actions the government has taken to support the overall agri-food sector’s growth, such as a Minister-led agri-food trade mission to Japan and Vietnam in February 2023. It also follows recent committed investments of up to $6 million through the Grow Ontario Market Initiative and more than $68 million through the Ontario Agricultural Sustainability Initiative.

To be eligible, applicants must have a minimum of 1,000 taps in operation, as of April 1, 2023 and meet other criteria.

Sustainable CAP is a 5-year (2023-2028), $3.5-billion investment by federal‐provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of the agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5 billion commitment that is cost-shared 60% federally and 40% provincially/territorially for programs designed and delivered by the provinces and territories.

Source : Canada.ca

Video: Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

When was the last time you read the label on your honey?

We spent a day at Molenkamp Honey Farms with Michael Molenkamp, who has been keeping bees for 17 seasons and runs three to four thousand hives. In mid-September, he was finishing treatments and getting his bees ready for winter, and he walked us through how Alberta honey gets made.

Alberta has just 150 commercial beekeepers running 300,000 colonies, and together they produce 40% of Canada’s honey. Long summer days and golden canola fields give Alberta honey a light flavour that’s hard to match anywhere else.

Molenkamp calls Alberta beekeepers some of the most resilient farmers he knows. There’s plenty of Alberta honey to go around, but a lot on our shelves isn’t from here, so his ask is simple. Give the label a second look and choose honey made by Alberta beekeepers, or buy straight from a beekeeper near you.