WELLINGTON COUNTY – Christmas tree growers in Wellington County and across southwestern Ontario are rethinking long-standing farming practices, and adapting how they farm to increasingly extreme weather patterns, including more drought events and intense rainfalls.
Rural
OAAS awarded grant to empower local agricultural societies
STIRLING – The Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies (OAAS) announced it has been selected to participate in the You Make the Difference National Initiative.
Ontario celebrates agricultural excellence
ONTARIO – The Government of Ontario has recognized 12 winners and seven honourable mentions of the 2025 Excellence in Agriculture Awards.
Grain Farmers of Ontario announces Legacy Scholarship recipients
GUELPH – On Nov. 24, Grain Farmers of Ontario, the province’s largest commodity organization, representing Ontario’s 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean and wheat farmers, announced the nine recipients of the 2025 Grain Farmers of Ontario Legacy Scholarship.
Canada, Ontario spending over $4 million on agri-food research
GUELPH – The provincial and federal governments are spending up to $4.77 million on 48 research and innovation projects and supporting 20 companies through the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI).
County’s experimental acres now accepting applications for 2026
WELLINGTON COUNTY – The 2026 intake for Wellington County’s Experimental Acres program is now open.
ROI invests in leadership and rural economic development capacity
GUELPH – On Oct. 8 the Rural Ontario Institute (ROI) announced a provincial investment of $1.7 million over three years in its leadership, data and economic development programs.
Firefighters learn skills in large-animal rescue
ELORA – First responders got hands-on training in large animal rescue at the Grand River Raceway on Oct. 17.
Sensational Elora brings Pumpkin Day to museum
ABOYNE – Sensational Elora held Pumpkin Day on Oct. 11.
Ontario to invest $41 Million in agriculture research infrastructure
ELORA – The provincial government has announced it will invest over $41 million over the next four years to build and revitalize Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario (ARIO) infrastructure.
MacAndrews Pumpkin Farm is stocked and open for business
MOUNT FOREST – MacAndrews Pumpkin Farm is stocked and open for business, boasting over 40 varieties of pumpkins, squash and other seasonal goodies.
County starts farm succession planning help for local farmers
WELLINGTON COUNTY – Just 276 Wellington County farms had written succession plans in 2021, according to an agriculture census that year.
Agriculture stakeholders meet in Niagara to steer agri-food sector’s future
GUELPH - Agricultural leaders met in Niagara Falls for the first-ever Agri-Food 2025 event to prepare the sector for the coming quarter century.
Wellington’s Nina Hiddema makes top five in Ontario’s Queen of the Furrow
WELLINGTON COUNTY – Wellington’s Queen of the Furrow Nina Hiddema made top five in the competition to be crowned Ontario’s Queen of the Furrow during last week’s International Plowing Match and Rural Expo in Grassie, Ontario.
Governments spending on farmland improvements
ONTARIO – The governments of Canada and Ontario are spending up to $14.6 million through the Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP) to help farmers make improvements to their farmland.