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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-11 Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington January 11, 2024 Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting Minutes Date: Thursday, January 11, 2024 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Microsoft Teams or Meeting Room 1C, Municipal Administrative Centre 40 Temperance St., Bowmanville, Ontario Members Present: Henry Zekveld (Chair), Tom Barrie, Eric Bowman, Brenda Metcalf, John Cartwright, Richard Rekker, Councillor Zwart, Jordan McKay, Craig Rickard Regrets: Jennifer Knox, Mitch Morawetz (DRFA), Ryan Cullen Staff Present: Sylvia Jennings, Jane Wang, Ashlee Kielbiski, Lisa Backus – Planning and Infrastructure Services Guests: Allison De Vos, Stacey Jibb, Lori Talling – Invest Durham 1. Welcome and Introductions Henry Zekveld welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. 2. Land Acknowledgement Statement Henry Zekveld recited Clarington’s Land Acknowledgement Statement. 3. Declarations of Interest None 4. Approval of Minutes of December 14, 2023 024-001 Moved by Tom Barrie, seconded by Eric Bowman That the minutes of the December 14, 2023, meeting be approved. Carried 5. Presentations / Delegations 5a. Presentation on Growing Agri-Food Durham 5 Year Action Plan – Allison De Vos, Stacey Jibb, Invest Durham Stacey Jibb and Allison De Vos from Invest Durham presented an update to the Committee on the Growing Agri-Food Durham 5 Year Action Plan. During consultation with the Committee while drafting the plan, Invest Durham committed to reporting back to the Committee annually. S. Jibb and A. De Vos described activities completed and planned related to the 10 goals of the Plan: Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington January 11, 2024 • Supporting local agriculture by running local food and agriculture weeks and promoting Ontario agriculture week • Hosted agriculture and economic development workshops and supported collaboration between Durham Region staff and local farms • Shared information on diversification and ag-related uses through workshops and sharing the OMAFRA guidelines on permitted uses • Organized a tour of the Oshawa Port and connected with representatives from the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority on supporting grain infrastructure at the port • Interviewed food processing facility operators in Scugog to understand capacity limits and opportunities to source more local agriculture • Hosted succession planning workshops, future workshops are planned for the coming years • Continued to partner with Durham Farm Connections on their agriculture education programming and assisted in a successful grant application to hire a joint coordinator for Durham Farm Fresh and Durham Farm Connections • Supported DAAC in the development of the Agriculture 101 training for regional and local councils • Hosted a vertical farming 101 workshop and launched a series of precision agriculture videos for local schools • Partnering with Durham College on various initiatives including their advisory panel, tech innovation to agri-food issues, and local grants S. Jibb and A. De Vos reviewed next steps. Invest Durham will continue to support its projects with Durham College, Precision Agriculture Day at the Barrie Farm, and Agriculture 101 training with DAAC. The team is currently working with Scugog, Uxbridge and Brock to implement consistent on farm diversified use policies across northern Durham. The Committee provided feedback and asked questions. Information sharing practices as physical materials are less used was discussed. A. De Vos and S. Jibb agreed that consolidating and disseminating information in an effective way is a continued challenge. There is information on the Invest Durham website and a bimonthly newsletter that is shared. A. Kielbiski also shared that Clarington Economic Development will also be launching a website with a specific agricultural page. They will be reaching out to Invest Durham and the Committee for resources and advice. 6. Business Arising from Previous Meeting 6a. Tree or Ditch Issues to Report to Public Works The Committee finalized the list of recommended areas for tree or ditch work in rural areas that is affecting agricultural operations. This list will be forwarded to public works. 7. Correspondence, Council Items and Referrals None. Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington January 11, 2024 8. Liaison Reports 8a. Durham Agricultural Advisory Committee – T. Barrie The January DAAC meeting was cancelled. No update. 8b. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture – M. Morawetz No update. 8c. Durham Farm Connections – B. Metcalf B. Metcalf provided the update. The primary school program will take place the first week of April at the Brooklin Arena. 8d. Durham Agricultural Economic Development Update – A. De Vos A. De Vos provided an update. Invest Durham is working on an apple value chain video project following the chain of the apple from seed to grocery store. Local businesses were featured including Wilmot and Algoma orchards, Gordon food services distribution, a Beaverton independent grocer, and Tyrone Mill. This video will be shared with students to demonstrate the food supply chain. The final product will be shared soon. 9. New Business None. 10. Date of Next Meeting February 8, 2024 11. Adjournment 024-002 Moved by Jordan McKay, Seconded by John Cartwright That the meeting adjourn at 8:05 p.m. Carried