Finding local farms can be difficult in a region as large as northern Ontario, but the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has created a map to help.
Stephanie Vanthof, a member service representative for the region, says the map was created last spring and first distributed at the International Plowing Match in Verner.
“They put together the road map so they could give it out to people at the plowing match and hopefully generate some sales and exposure for those farms and for their local members,” she explains.
Vanthof says 12,000 maps were printed to help connect the thousands of visitors to area producers.
Markus Wand was one of the farmers who answered the call to be included in the map. He also markets his products from his farm, online and at farmers' markets.
Wand Family Farm in Powassan sells lamb, pork, chicken, and turkey.
“There's a lot of demand out there for locally produced products and we just hope that we can, you know, meet some of the needs customers have and produce good quality food,” he says.
Wand says he was contacted about being added to the map.
“Especially in the north, where there's more travelling to do if you're going from one spot to the next, I think the map just helps people visualize exactly where a certain producer is that they might want to get in contact with.”
Wand says the map also helps farmers connect with one another.
Unfortunately, Vanthof says, more maps were printed but cannot be distributed by ministry staff due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Anyone interested in a physical or digital copy of the map can contact Vanthof here.
Mackenzie Casalino, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The North Bay Nugget.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada
