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Investments to double for Grow Ontario Market Initiative

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing an additional $6 million in the Grow Ontario Market Initiative to help agri-food businesses and industry organizations expand their sales and grow their markets. The increase brings the total funding for the Initiative through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership to $12 million.

The Grow Ontario Market Initiative was launched in 2023 to provide primary producers, food processors and industry organizations with cost-share funding to help them increase sales in domestic and foreign markets through market analysis and planning, new product development and marketing.

“I’m so pleased that we’ve been able to partner with the Government of Ontario to invest an additional $6 million for the Grow Ontario Market Initiative,” said the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Ensuring our farmers, producers, and agri-food businesses are able to reach new markets, at home and abroad, is vitally important, and our governments are here to support them.”

“We are committed to our Grow Ontario Strategy goal of increasing agri-food trade by eight per cent each year, and we’re doing so by promoting the incredible quality and diversity of products made and processed right here in Ontario,” said Ontario Agriculture Minister Lisa Thompson. “Through initiatives like the Grow Ontario Market Initiative, our trade missions and participation in international trade shows, we’re ensuring Ontario agriculture and food businesses can grow and expand to new markets.”

Source : The Grower

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From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.