A partnership funded by the Ontario and federal governments has allocated $300,000 in local funding to two West Niagara meat businesses.
The funds will be used to increase productivity and wastewater capacity at Premier Kosher in Smithville and freezer and frozen meat tumbling capacity at Jadee Meat Products in Beamsville. Each will receive $150,000 in funding.
The funding is part of the provincial and federal government’s investment of more than $7 million to quickly increase production and efficiency in meat processing plants across the province.
Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, funded jointly at the provincial and federal levels, 77 projects are receiving cost-share funding to purchase or upgrade equipment that will improve production and safety measures in free-standing meat plants and abattoirs in Ontario. The program was focused on measures that could quickly increase processing capacity as the industry dealt with a shortage of processing capacity, partly related to COVID slowdowns.
“COVID made it more difficult for our farmers to find the processing capacity that they needed and these investments are part of our rapid response to help both our farmers and our processing industry to succeed in these challenging times,” said Ernie Hardeman, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
“Food safety and security in our food supply chain is more important than ever,” said Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff. “The federal and provincial investment in Premier Kosher and Jadee Meat Products is welcome news for the local meat processing industry in Niagara West.”
The funding is part of both governments’ investments to assist Ontario’s agri-food sector in meeting challenges related to COVID-19. Since June 2018, both the federal and provincial governments have committed cost-share support to approximately 4,400 projects through the Partnership to help eligible Ontario farmers, processors, businesses and sector organizations innovate and grow.