Author: ON Regional Economic Development
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Driving the conversation forward with youth in Perth County
Across rural Ontario, where youth out-migration to urban centres is a concerning trend; finding new ways to engage young people in their communities is increasingly important. More needs to be done to incorporate the voice of youth in local planning and development processes. “Youth will only return home if they feel they have left something behind”…
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Ontario Business Improvement Areas Releases Return ON Investment Report
The “first ever” report of this kind, establishes a baseline of the economic and social contribution of Business Improvement Areas to Ontario’s communities. The Return on Investment of Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) project was spearheaded by the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) and Toronto Area Business Improvement Association (TABIA) and funded through the Ministry…
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Cultivating the Great Claybelt
Interest in developing and expanding agriculture in northern Ontario has increased recently. Industry groups such as Beef Farmers of Ontario have pushed to expand their sectors by utilizing underdeveloped, less expensive land in the north. OMAFRA has been working hard to provide support for this initiative. Municipalities across the district of Cochrane, coalescing under the…
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Updated Programming for Growing Forward 2
New cost-share funding assistance is now available for Ontario producers through Growing Forward 2 (GF2) to make their operations more energy efficient and adopt enhanced environmental agricultural practices. This support will help Ontario farmers continue to combat climate change by boosting energy efficiency on farming operations. The four new cost-share GF2 project categories will help…
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Now Accepting Applications for the 2017 Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence Program!
The agri-food sector has always been innovative in running businesses, adapting practices and collaborating to compete in the world economy. To help spur and to celebrate this innovative spirit, the Government of Ontario created the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence Program. Have you developed and implemented a unique product or process that helps foster…
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The Premier’s Award For Agri-Food Innovation Excellence Program is Accepting Applications
The Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence program recognizes outstanding agriculture and agri-food related innovators including producers, processors, and agri-food organizations. The objectives of the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence Program are to: Recognize and encourage innovators in the agri-food sector Foster farm-level innovation Raise awareness about the importance of agri-food innovation and its…
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Add Value to Your Agricultural Business: Learn How to Turn Your Ideas into Reality
Take the OMAFRA course, Exploring Value Added Opportunities, to learn whether adding value to your products and services is right for your business. Register today for the March 31 workshop to be held in Sunderland, Ontario! Your registration fee includes resource materials, lunch and refreshments. Ever wondered about turning your fruit into jam? Ever dreamed…
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3 Lessons on Innovation from the Economic Developers Council of Ontario Annual Conference
I had the opportunity to attend the 60th annual Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) conference that took place in February. Delegates from across Ontario included economic development officers, municipal elected officials, staff from several Ontario ministries, and industry leaders representing manufacturing, business, planning, IT, and tourism. The theme this year was Driven by Innovation. The…
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Analyst: Input-Output Modelling. A Closer Look.
Now that the the Input-Output Modelling tool, for Analyst, is available (read previous blog post here), it is time to take a closer look at one of the new reports, Regional Requirements. Regional Requirements is just one of six new reports available in Analyst under the Input-Output Module. The report helps quantify the goods and services…
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Cost Of Production Calculators Available To Help With Business Planning
In the complex world of production agriculture, determining which crops will make you the most profit can be a daunting task. To help with decision making, several tools are available for downloading from the OMAFRA web site. One of these tools is the crop budgeting tool. The crop budgeting tool provides an easy way to…