July 21, 2010, Petrolia, Ont. – Picking a peck of bigger,
better yellow peppers is more possible as a result of an innovation
implemented
at Adrian Roelands’ greenhouse operation in Lambton County.
July 21, 2010, Petrolia, Ont. – Picking a peck of bigger,
better yellow peppers is more possible as a result of an innovation implemented
at Adrian Roelands’ greenhouse operation in Lambton County.
 |
| Lambton, Kent, Middlesex MPP Maria Van Bommel (at left) congratulates Jack Greydanus, Jodi Roelands and Adrian Roeland of the Enniskillen Pepper Company Ltd. |
An ingenious system of fixed and moving wires that are high up
in the greenhouse ceiling opens the canopies of individual plants, allowing
better sun exposure on the peppers. Seven of the grower’s 13 acres of
greenhouse are now operating with the new system in place. An added bonus is
that workers don’t have to reach as far to pick the peppers due to denser,
closer rows.
The system earned the Enniskillen Pepper Company Ltd. one of 55 regional awards in the
Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence program.
The five-year, $2.5-million Premier’s Award for Agri-Food
Innovation Excellence, announced as part of the 2006 provincial budget,
recognizes that farmers have always been innovative in the running of their
businesses and will foster even greater innovation across the province’s
agri-food sector.
There will be up to 55 regional award winners annually, with a
cash prize of $5,000 each. From these winners, a Minister’s Award of up to
$50,000 and a Premier’s Award of up to $100,000 will be selected.
“My special congratulations go out to the award recipients for
their vital contributions to the provincial economy, to the rural communities
in which you live and work – and to making our province a leader in agri-food
innovation,” said Premier Dalton McGuinty.
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