"˜Agricultural incubator"™ considered

With an “incubator” for creative business already formed, officials here are looking at the idea of an agricultural incubator as a spark for economic development.

Minto CAO Bill White reported at the Feb. 13 economic development committee (MEDC) meeting on the potential for an agricultural incubator (also known as micro-farming) in the Harriston Industrial Park.

Agricultural parks make land available to small farmers at a reasonable cost with long-term tenure.

“The ideal tenant of the agricultural park would be a new farmer that would farm full-time, a college graduate, has less than two years’ experience as a full-time farmer or less than four years’ experience as a part-time farmer and a person that is likely to successfully operate a farm,” the minutes state.

Jonathan Zettler, who represents the local agricultural community on the MEDC, explained  the 55 acres of land in the Harriston Industrial Park has good drainage with some wet spots.

Once the snow melts, White and Zettler will make a site visit to determine the land quality.

“This is just something that was brought forward to the committee as a possibility that they could look into,” Mandy Jones, business and economic development coordinator, told Minto council at the March 4 meeting.

The Minto Creative Industry Incubator board recently held its first meeting on Feb. 21.

A name and logo for the incubator, to be located at 1 Elora Street in Harriston, are among the matters the committee is currently working on.