The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Local agri-food businesses receive awards Two Scugog agricultural businesses, Durham Foods Limited and Willowtree Farm, were the recipient of The Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence on September 14 in Peterborough. Durham Foods Limited, is operated by Jim and Shelley Sheehan and Willowtree Farm, is operated by the McKay family. DURHAM FOODS LIMITED PORT PERRY Doing your homework really pays off. Shelley and Jim Sheehan started their busi- ness by conducting market research with produce managers in local grocery stores. They found that there was a definite demand for year-round local spinach. The really hard work began when they found out there was no hydroponically grown spinach and that all the product was im- ported. Again, they went back to their home- work by working with Cornell University to devise the technology and make it commercially viable. In two short years, production began, and 400 kilograms of spinach are being shipped to 36 local re- Family Owned Business North Port Tire has been in the tire business for over 65 years and we have been proud to serve Scugog Township for over 30 of those years. See us in our new location! 905-985-8054 tailers weekly. The product is popular with consumers and there is a real potential to replace a $20 million import market. WILLOWTREE FARM PORT PERRY With a few modifications, a corn planter can become a garlic planter and a tunnel fan used to dry hay can do double duty on garlic, too. This market gardener has moved into garlic in a big way by using machinery and materials that were already on-farm, rather than buying equip- ment custom built for garlic production. Besides saving time and money, the owner has a larger garlic crop with a lower defor- mity rate, better weed control and higher returns. Production has increased from 250 pounds in 2008 to more than 3,000 pounds on three-and-a-half acres in 2010. Ten acres were planted in the fall of 2011. Both of these farming businesses have been featured in Focus on Scugog. See their stories at wwt,focusonscugog.com in the Focus Archives. ¢ Durham Foods - April 2012 - Page 3 ¢ Willowtree Farm - July 2011 - Page 22 Jeff Leal, MPP Peterborough and Jim Sheehan of Durham Foods Ltd. Jeff Leal, MPP Peterborough and Alex McKay of Willowtree Farm. arg wee Sheringon De 1a Simcoe Bd ‘10.FOCUS, OCTOBER. 40 pages.indd 27 FOCUS - OCTOBER 2012 27 t 12-09-24 9:13 AM