Last week, Middlesex County staff had the pleasure of joining the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) on a tour of agri-businesses in Middlesex. Each year, one of the 15 board directors of the GFO hosts an annual in-person meeting and a tour of their district. This year the Middlesex district was the host and Steve Twynstra, the director for the Middlesex district, extended an invitation to our economic development department, and we were thrilled to join.
The tour kicked off at the new Holiday Inn Express in Adelaide-Metcalfe, on the border of Strathroy-Caradoc. This fantastic addition to the County opens the door for businesses, organizations, sports tournaments, and others to host larger events and provide accommodations right here in the County.
Our journey began through the rural areas of Southwest Middlesex and Strathroy-Caradoc, heading east to the City of London’s industrial park off Veterans Memorial Parkway. There, Gabe Mott, Chief Operating Officer for Aspire, welcomed us with a tour of Aspire’s cricket processing facility. Aspire produces protein-rich cricket powder for pet foods and a by-product called frass, which serves as a supplement for aquaculture and agriculture.
Next, we visited Arva Flour Mills in Middlesex Centre, a historical gem that's been milling flour since 1819. After a scenic lunch by the Arva Mill Pond, courtesy of the newly opened Red River Café, Dustin Blackall and Mark Rinker gave us a tour of the mill and the vintage rollers they use to produce their artisan flour.
Continuing in Middlesex Centre, we explored the Western University Environmental Sciences Field Centre, home to researchers, graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral students spanning a variety of disciplines. Hugh Henry and Grant Edwards manage the research facility and coordinated a tour from Dr. Franco Berruti where he explained some of the onsite biochemical research on plastics and analyses on biochars. We also received a tour of the Agrivoltaic-Agrotunnel from Kim Parker, CEO of Food Security Structures; a project looking at solar powered indoor growing systems using LED grow lights.
Our final stop was Stanton Farms, home to 1,000 Holstein dairy cows. Laurie Stanton guided us through the dairy operations and highlighted their innovative biodigester system, which transforms organic waste into electricity and RNG (renewable natural gas), as well as their genetics division launched in 2021.
Middlesex County grain farmers contribute a substantial $900 million to the regional GDP, accounting for 16% of the total GDP across all industries in Middlesex County. Of the 10,100 businesses in the County, 2,350 are in agriculture, and 1,350 of those are grain farmers. Of the total 630,000 acres of farmland in Middlesex County, 530,000 acres are grain farms; this means around 84% of farm acreage in Middlesex County is barley, corn, oat, soybean or wheat.
These tours are a great chance to showcase the innovative spirit of the region and remind us of the vast and varied activities in Middlesex County's agri-business sector, bringing to life the stats, charts, and graphs we often share at stakeholder roundtables, on our website, and at trade shows. We had a wonderful day exploring Middlesex County agri-businesses with the Grain Farmers of Ontario and were happy to have received the invitation to participate in the tour.