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You might think that a company that builds docks and boathouses, and does shoreline restoration up and down the St.Lawerence seaway and Lake Ontario (and grows hops in the summer as well) would be taking it easy in early January. But late last Friday afternoon, as the ice was forming on the bay and a cold snap was setting in, company owner Jason Lacelle was at headquarters and fabrication shop for Wolfe Island Marine. He was supervising work on some of the products that his crew builds in the winter time, for installation in the warmer weather. “We work 5 days per week year around. In the first few years it slowed down a bit for us in the winters, but we have developed a good mix of clientele and there is always something happening for use. We like to utilize the shop as much as possible in the winter,” he said. A couple of years ago, Wolfe Island Marine purchased a large barge and that has opened up opportunities for the company. “Not only can we transport equipment, section of docks and other structures to properties on the seaway and Lake Ontario so much more easily, it really helps with our shoreline restoration business. We can get in close to shore and do the jobs from the water. We can bring in equipment, materials, and aggregate, whatever we need, and not have to get to the shoreline over land. No matter how gentle you try to be, there is always damage to clean up when you cross over land with heavy equipment.” The shoreline restoration part of the business has been very strong, partly as the result of the flood seasons in 2017 and 2019 along the lakes and rivers. “We’ve been really busy helping customers to repair their shorelines, and to protect against flooding in the future. There has been a lot of damage everywhere in recent years.” Wolfe Island Marine is an offshoot of its parent company, Lacelle’s Corporate Group, which was the name that Jason Lacelle gave to the welding and fabricating business that he started in Marysville back in 2011. He opened the shop when the only commercial welder on Wolfe Island was retiring. The company grew exponentially after Jason and his wife Christie bought a farm property on the island and Jason began to hire more people and acquire larger pieces of equipment. Establishing Wolfe Island Marine in 2018 was a natural progression in order to reflect the company’s expansion into shoreline development, boat house construction and restoration, dock fabrication, and dock repair. Aside from a loan from the Frontenac CFDC several years ago, Wolfe Island Marine has been able to absorb the cost of equipment purchases by waiting for the right piece to come on the market at the right price, and to leverage their expanding business at the same time. “The CFDC is always helping us with information about grants that are available, and with other kinds of business information. I was just speaking to them last week with regards to training because we are having employees trained for AZ/DZ licensing so we can be more versatile by moving our own heavy equipment, and they helped us with information on that. It’s nice to have someone to call who understands what we are trying to do. Looking forward, Wolfe Island Marine Services’ next purchase might be of interest to waterfront property owners in mainland Frontenac County. They are looking to acquire some sectional barges that can be lifted up and trucked to job site locations. They plan to use them for projects on in-land lakes, to bring their services to waterfront residents throughout the region, even on remote lakes and water access properties. The range of services offered by the company can be found at their website, wolfeislandmarine.com

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

Customers haven’t really been screaming, but they have been asking, if Limestone Creamery might consider starting to make their own ice cream using the single source milk that they produce and process on their farm, located on the same property as the farm store at the southern edge of Frontenac County on Sydenham Road.

It is a logical extension for a business that has been following a path that started when Kathie and Francis Groenewegen decided to take transition their traditional dairy farm to an organic farm about 20 years ago. Their business has been evolving ever since, particularly once they began processing and marketing their milk themselves.

They sell their own organic milk at a farm store on their property, deliver it to customers living within a reasonable distance from their house, and extend their reach by selling it through selected stores that are located a bit further away, such as Local Family Farms in Verona.

“Our location, it turned out, was ideal, since we can easily deliver to Kingston and our store is located on a busy commuter road for South Frontenac residents,” said Kathie, as a steady stream of customers shopped for milk, fresh baked goods, and a variety of organic products from other local and regional farmers, bakers, jam makers, and others organic producers.

Everything in the store is available for delivery as well for weekly deliveries to Kingston, parts of South Frontenac and into Stone Mills township.

One of the reasons the Groenewegen’s decided to get into the marketing end of the milk business was to make their operation capable of supporting another generation of farmers, as their children Olivia and Patrick were interested in farming.

When they were building their processing facility, the Groenewegen’s talked to the Frontenac CFDC, and they were able to get a grant to cover half the cost of one of the major pieces of equipment that they needed.

The next big project that they are embarking on is to replace their aging barn with a new, open barn. These modern barns eliminate the need to gather cows twice a day for milking as the cows are able to decide when it is time to be milked. With the aide of a little bit of training and the incentive provided by a little bit of grain (the Groenewegen cattle are 94% grass fed, supplemented by peas and corn that are grown organically on the farm) the cows will be able to control the milking, at the same time making life a little less onerous for the farmers who have been waking up for 5am milking duty for generations. It will also be tied to technology, with the cow’s milk production, body temperature, and other information being monitored every time they come in to be milked.

“It will be good for the animals, which is really important to us,” she said.

The larger barn will also allow the farm to reach its capacity of Holstein and Jersey milking cows.

Ice cream is a bit of a side business, but it is also a response to customer demand, and it has involved the purchase of equipment and the necessary approvals from inspectors, and learning new recipes.

“People love ice cream, of course, and they want to be able to eat some that is made from organic cream and other ingredients that are locally sourced, so we are working with Gorr’s Maple Syrup, Fruition Berry Farm on Hwy. 15, and others to develop recipes. And it tastes pretty good. We hope to have our ice cream available later this summer,” she said.

There are a few others who are hoping for that as well, now that the warm weather has hit the region. Even if they are polite, local food lovers, Limestone Creamery customers are at least silently screaming for ice cream.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

On February 27th, 2019 the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, announced Eastern Ontario CFDCs would receive funding to support projects that drive innovation and growth in rural Eastern Ontario.

As a result of this funding support, the Frontenac CFDC is pleased to announce, in cooperation with CFDCs across Eastern Ontario, the official launch of the Rural Innovation Initiative Eastern Ontario.

The priority sectors for funding are: advanced manufacturing, digital industries, clean tech, agri-food, and food processing. Another focus is projects that focus on inclusiveness: youth, women entrepreneurs, Indigenous peoples, Official Language Minority Communities, persons with disabilities, immigrants and visible minorities

Eligibility

Businesses (local stream refers to businesses operating in the County of Frontenac; regional stream refers to businesses operating in Eastern Ontario) and Not-For-Profit organizations supporting business and community transition into the new rural economy

Supported projects will strengthen competitiveness, productivity, business growth, process innovation, new market access, creation and retention of employment opportunities, the re-skilling of the industrial workforce, incremental sales and increased profitability, and as a result, diversify and transform our local communities and economy.

Project funding

The minimum project size for the local Intake opens for Rural Innovation Initiative Eastern Ontario Intake Opens for Rural Innovation Initiative Eastern Ontario stream is $50,000 (excluding HST) to a maximum of $200,000. Approved projects will be eligible for a non-repayable performance-based contribution of 50%.

In addition to the local stream being offered by the Frontenac CFDC, there is also a regional stream. The regional stream focuses on accelerating the growth of SMEs on the innovation track, with benefits to multiple communities in Eastern Ontario and is delivered by Northumberland CFDC. Guidelines and the online application for this stream are available at www.financingandstrategy.com

Applications and guidelines are available at www.frontenaccfdc.com/start/ grants. Our upcoming application intake dates are June 6, July 4 and September 5th. If you have any questions or would like to discuss your project in advance of applying, please contact Anne Prichard. Our phones are down until Monday. Until then, please email at anne@frontenaccfdc. com. After Monday, feel free to call 613-372-1414 Ext. 204 or Sue Theriault 613-372-1414 Ext. 206.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

The staff at the Frontenac CFDC and County of Frontenac are working with an individual who is researching the possibility of creating a poultry and rabbit abattoir in South Frontenac. 

For over a decade, farmers have been telling us that there is a need for a local abattoir. A feasibility study for an Eastern Ontario mobile abattoir was complete in 2005. With funding from the County of Frontenac, National Farmers Union Local 316 conducted an abattoir feasibility study in 2011.  There was also some work done around the possibility of creating a co-operative abattoir.

 The staff is excited by the possibility that at long last there may be an abattoir to service local farmers. To make this happen, we need your help.  If you have the need for these services, complete this on-line survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BSXPFVQ.

If you are not comfortable in completing an on-line survey, contact Anne Prichard at 613-372-1414 Ext. 204 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..    

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Wednesday, 07 February 2018 13:10

Talking food in Verona

It was likely a coincidence that the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) chose to hold an event about the future of local food production on Groundhog Day. But with Maple Syrup producers laying low, farmers sorting their seeds, and restaurants in winter survival mode, it was a good time to get everyone together.

Katherine Howes is doing her thesis on Frontenac County as part of her work towards a post-graduate degree in Rural planning and development at Guelph University. She also has a farming background in Parham, and set the stage for the event with a short power point on her findings thus far.

One of the aspects of the local food industry that Howes has looked at is access to production facilities for small scale and startup food producers. She did so on the basis of the results of Business Retention and Expansion study that was conducted by the Frontenac County Economic Development department in 2012. The study identified commercial kitchens as a “key piece of infrastructure that was needed to grow local food processing in Frontenac County” she said in her presentation.

She contacted all the church and community halls in the county that have kitchens that are, or could be, used for commercial production.

“It was determined that a large number of community kitchens in the county are underutilised and that they have the potential to be upgraded to commercial kitchen facilities, given enough financial support”.

While her research found the owners of the halls are receptive to making more use of their kitchens, the demand among producers is mixed.

For her research, Howes has also interviewed producers.

Of the eighteen producers she has conducted extensive interviews with, seven use commercial kitchen space, but of those producers who are thinking of getting into a new, value added product, only 22% are considering looking for commercial kitchen space.

There was little or no interest in taking advantage of either of the two regional food hubs which offer kitchen and storage space, at least partly because they are located too far away, in Smiths Falls and Hastings County. While there is a need for more commercial kitchen capacity, producers in Frontenac are more inclined to look either at some local rental spaces that are available or can be developed, or at renovating existing kitchens or building new ones to commercial standards so they can work at home.

After the presentation, the main business of Friday’s event centred around conversations at three tables on specific topics: creating consumer awareness, coordination for growth, and infrastructure. Among the diverse participants at the event were farmers, farm group representatives, value added food producers, and representatives from local municipalities and provincial ministries. Participants found their own tables based on their interests and the conversations were broad, but the intention of the event was to focus on finding a way to move forward on the issues that were brought up at the tables.

At the Infrastructure table, issues were raised both about dealing with municipal regulations around zoning and building permits, and about provincial regulations as they apply to food businesses.

“It would be ideal if there were a simple list of requirements, so I know what I have to do to get up and running as a legal producer, no matter how long the list was. But I can’t get that, I don’t know where I would go to get that, and it makes it hard for my timelines and my finances” said Alan Zahara, who is developing a new food business in the Hartington area.

South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal participated in the infrastructure table. He acknowledged that the township has not been able to streamline its own processes and provide all commercial developers, not just those in the food industry, with the kind of list Zahara was referring to, but said it goes both ways.

“We sometimes have people coming to us who think they can go ahead and construct new buildings or do renovations without engineer’s drawings, without professional support for their applications,” he said.

At the table that was looking at consumer awareness, Alison Shannon from Sun Harvest Greenhouses of Glenburnie (just outside Frontenac County) said that the Infrontenac branding initiative has “has led to a lot of awareness and cooperation among producers. Maybe the consumers, the eaters, are the next focus,” she said.

Others mentioned that creating awareness about the availability of local food is an issue that producers face everywhere, and in a county where people are scattered throughout and travel to other centres on a regular basis for food, it can be hard to build a local presence.

The two farmers markets (in Sharbot Lake and Verona) and some of the food stores, such as Local Family Farms in Verona and Lavallee’s Inverary Store are options for consumers to access local products, but there was a feeling that more can be done in the future as far as marketing ‘local’ is concerned.

The networking event was part of an initiative that the FCFDC has taken on for the township of South Frontenac, which has funded a study to identify the gaps in infrastructure and services for food producers and processors.

A final report will be coming to South Frontenac Council later this year.

As the day was wrapping up, Anne Prichard of the FCFDC wanted to let any of the participating producers know that, in response to one of the infrastructure needs that has been identified, there is a developer in South Frontenac who is looking at building fridge and freezer storage space, and she wants to hear from anyone who might need some. That invitation is open to all producers as well who might have a need. She can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the square footage and type of product that needs storage.

In addition to a chilli lunch prepared by Local Family Farms, samples of a new Frontenac County product that will soon be available, goat yogurt from a Harrowmsith area farm, was available for sampling. The thick, Greek version, and lighter Balkan version were popular among the crowd. Samples of the tasty, still warm, fresh goat milk was a little less popular, with some participants saying they preferred their milk cold.

 

 

 

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

$35,000 allocated in County budget for FCFDC

Frontenac County Council has defied the advice of their Chief Administrative Officer, Kelly Pender, by tentatively placing a $35,000 grant in their 2017 budget to help the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) cover its operating costs.

Anne Prichard, executive director of the FCFDC, made a pitch to the council last month. She pointed out that her agency, which is a federally funded not-for-profit corporation, has run into difficulty covering administrative costs because of structural under-funding.

The FCFDC provides support for businesses in Frontenac County in the form of advice and workshops on various topics as well as providing loans and overseeing federal grant programs. A funding cut several years ago eliminated one position in the now three-person operation. In order to balance the books, Prichard has been using a portion of the interest earned on loans to cover operating costs, which is permitted under the agency’s operating guidelines from the FEDNOR, the federal agency that funds it.

However, as Prichard pointed out to Frontenac County in September, the loan portfolio of the FCFDC has increased as new businesses have come on stream in Frontenac County and existing businesses contemplate expansion.

“You are essentially a victim of your own success,” said North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, after Prichard made her pitch in September.

“To an extent,” Prichard said, adding that new funding is being determined by FEDNOR, which could alleviate or eliminate the problem.

“We are the youngest and one of the smallest of the CFDCs in Ontario, and that has made it difficult under the current funding formula. We have made FEDNOR aware of this and we hope that is reflected in the new formula,” Prichard said.

When Prichard asked for support from Frontenac County, she presented two options: $35,000 for operational support, or $30,000 to support one of the FCFDC initiative, the Food and Beverage (FAB) region project it has undertaken with L&A and Hastings Counties.

In his report on the requests, CAO Kelly Pender said the $35,000 request to support day-to-day operations was not something he could recommend.

“Operating costs are very seldom, if ever, funded by a granting agency to any organisation. It is not known if this is a one-time cost or if it is a request for an on-going grant request. $35,000 represents a 0.41% levy [to Frontenac ratepayers],” he said in a report to a budget meeting that preceded the regular meeting of council last Wednesday, October 19.

Pender did support option 2, which would see Frontenac County joining with two other neighbouring counties in funding a specific project. He added the proviso that the FCFDC provide a report on expenditures and on the impact of the project, and asked for confirmation of the continued involvement of Lennox and Addington and Hastings counties.

However, when the matter came before Council, the argument was made that Frontenac County should provide direct support to the FCFDC, and option 1 was proposed and voted on. The result was a 5-3 vote in favour.

Of the opposition votes, two were cast by South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal. Vandewal has two votes because he is the mayor of the largest township in the county - 18,000 of the approximately 27,000 residents live in South Frontenac.

During a break in the meeting Vandewal said that he did not vote against the motion because he doesn’t support the FCFDC.

“I support them and I voted that way because I think the county should look at contracting out economic development to the FCFDC. Our economic development officer is about to retire and rather than giving them a band-aid we should consider contracting out the service to them,” he said.

Later meeting, North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins put forward a notice of motion to suspend the hiring process for a new Economic Development Officer until a discussion can take place about the potential for contracting out the service.

CAO Kelly Pender said a short list of candidates have been developed but interviews have not yet begun to fill the position.

In order to have a discussion before the position is filled, a special was called for November 2nd to fully air the issue.

The purpose of the meeting is to “evaluate the position of the Manager of Economic Development and to discuss options for the implementation of the county’s Economic Development Strategy,” said a notice that was posted on the Frontenac County website this week.

Anne Marie Young is the current economic development officer for Frontenac County. She is retiring at the end of 2016. Her tenure in the post has been marked by efforts to complete the K&P Trail; an increased profile for the county in the Eastern Ontario region; and the recent branding initiative. She was the 2016 recipient of the Economic Developer of the Year award at the annual Ontario East Economic Development conference in August.  

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

Max Sadlowski will be bringing his Internet Technology expertise to Frontenac and L&A counties, courtesy of a program that is being offered by the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation and the County of Lennox and Addington.

The program includes a series of workshops about practical ways rural business owners can make use of digital technology to cut costs, attract new customers, and maintain or hire new staff.

The first workshop that is being offered is about the use of Shopify and other online sales systems to expand to markets far from home, and the second is a more general one, Online Marketing 101, which covers everything from developing a basic web profile to setting up and updating websites, using mobile technology, etc.

Full information about the date and location of the workshops is available at the project web page on the Frontenac CFDC website. Go to Frontenaccfdc.com and look for the workshops tab

Max Sadlowski worked with small and medium businesses in Toronto before moving to Kingston 1 ½ years ago to expand his business. He established Spotlight Learning, an in-home tutoring company, in short order, and after setting up a website, social media and other tools for the business, he received enquiries from other Kingston businesses asking for advice on enhancing or establishing their own web presence. That soon led to him setting up his own consulting business, while his mother continues to run Spotlight Learning.

In the first few weeks since taking on the project in Frontenac and L&A, Sadlowski said he has learned a few things already.

One is the scale of the need and desire for more digital tools in the rural areas.

“I under-estimated the need. Online marketing and sales, even on a basic level, often sinks to the bottom of the to-do list for businesses because people are so busy dealing with customers and getting through the day. But with the new tools that are always being developed, there are easy, low-cost ways to use many tools that can be implemented quickly and cheaply,” he said.

The project will run into 2018. Given the changing nature of online tools, topics for workshops and other services will be constantly under development.

“We will talk to the businesses about their challenges and goals and since things are changing so quickly in the tech world, we will always be looking at new solutions that are coming on stream. For example, new systems for accepting payment through credit and debit cards have just come on stream and they can make it easier and cheaper for businesses to get into. These are things that we can offer now that I might not have been able to three or six months ago,” he said.

In addition to workshops, the project includes one on one consulting in some cases. Everything that is available can be found on the project home page.

To take advantage of Tech Coaching, if your business is located in Frontenac, please contact Anne Prichard, Frontenac CFDC, 613-372-1414 ext. 204 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If your business is in Lennox and Addington, please contact Stephen Paul, Director, Community & Development Services, 613-354-4883 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in General Interest
Wednesday, 28 September 2016 23:27

Frontenac CFDC seeking municipal support

The Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC), which is funded by Industry Canada, has been a source of grants and loans to businesses in Frontenac County for over a decade.

Now, for the first time, they are looking for some money to flow in from the local community.

Anne Prichard, the executive director of the FCFDC, has appeared before Frontenac County and South Frontenac Councils over the past week seeking financial support.

At her presentation to Frontenac County on September 21, she outlined how the agency had its operating funding cut by over $70,000 in 2012/2013, and as a result has had to cut one staff position.

At the same time, the loan portfolio of the FCFDC has increased by 41% since 2013.

“That has only accelerated in recent months” she said, “and while we are pleased with this success, it has placed stress on both our operational and investment funds.”

In 2015, in order to cover operating expenses, with the approval of its funder and its board of directors, the FCFDC diverted a small portion, $35,000 of its interest revenue to cover operating expenses.

The rest of the interest revenue is returned to the pool of funds that are available for loans.

“However, with the increasing demand for loans, in 2016 we need that money to lend out,” said Prichard.

The FCFDC is presenting two options for support to Frontenac County and also to the Township of South Frontenac.

Option one is for a grant of $35,000 to cover the shortfall in operating funding, and option 2 is for $30,000 to go directly to the Food and Beverage (FAB) region program.

The money would be used, in part, to participate in a number of trade shows that are coming up over the next six months. As an example of the impact of these shows, Prichard talked about one Frontenac County restaurant that the FCFDC works with, the Wolfe Island Grill.

“A spot opened up at a conference in Montreal, and we offered it up to Casey Fisher of the Wolfe Island Grill to bring a line of home meals he had developed. The contacts he made there changed his whole business outlook,” she said.

Prichard said that the funding model that is used for the community futures development corporations across the province makes it difficult for smaller, newer ones like Frontenac to operate and a new funding model is in the works, which should alleviate the financial issues in the future.

“In a sense, you are a victim of your own success,” said North Frontenac Councilor John Inglis at the presentation to Frontenac County on September 21. “But would not the CFDC be self-sustaining with a larger loan portfolio?”

“Yes, and that is the advantage that the larger, more established CFDCs have. For us, we would have to almost double our portfolio to get there,” said Prichard.

After delivering a similar presentation to South Frontenac Council, Councillor Ron Sleeth asked Anne Prichard how many businesses the FCFDC serves in a year.

“I can tell that since April 1st of this year we have made 26 loans. We give out from 50-95 grants each year and do about 150 consultations with businesses each year,” Prichard said.

South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal then said, “As everyone knows we are a very big part of he county as far as paying into the budget. I would like to see how this is played out there before we look at it for our own budget.”

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Wednesday, 01 July 2015 15:38

Frontenac CFDC AGM

A capacity crowd breakfasted and networked at the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation’s (FCFDC) Annual General Meeting at the Verona Lions hall on June 18.

Board chair Jan Dines introduced the organization’s board, staff, and committee members as well as the attending dignitaries and guests speakers. Following the elections, Dines let the numbers speak for the organization, whose mandate is to provide business counseling and loans to support small business growth, which they continue to do successfully.

In the past fiscal year, 2014-2015, a total of $1,232,751 in loans was dispersed, the most ever for the organization, and that included 29 new loans. These loan values have increased by 17.36% in the past year, and the impact from the loans on jobs has been substantial. Last year they created 14 new full-time jobs, five new part-time jobs, and maintained an additional 72.

Dines spoke of the organization’s recent new partnerships with Launch Lab, Futurpreneur and St. Lawrence College. She spoke of the FCFDC's strategic plans and how these strategies continue to be met by supporting local businesses, vibrant communities, tourism and accommodation, awareness of services offered and FAB (the food and beverage region).

Following Dines’ talk, a number of guest speakers who have benefited from support from the FCFDC made presentations. The first was Ian Stutt of Patchwork Gardens, a certified organic farm and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) business located in Battersea. Loans from the FCFDC enabled Patchwork Gardens to purchase new equipment, build new infrastructure, and to explore marketing and branding to grow the business, which supports two families. Ian gave a history of the farm and its growth since he began farming in 2004 and he thanked the staff at the FCFDC and board members for their ongoing support over the years. Cindy Cassidy, manager of the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance and Anne Marie Young, manager of economic development with the County of Frontenac, spoke about the FCFDC loans that have supported local trail development throughout the county.

Lastly, Scott Runte of Launch Lab, a provincially funded regional innovation center that provides business advice and support to entrepreneurs throughout Ontario through 17 centers, spoke about how the organization, in partnership with the FCFDC, assists entrepreneurs. Launch Lab is all about entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs and staff work one on one with new businesses owners, helping them to grow and succeed. Runte spoke of the often lonely and difficult road that new business owners face and how Launch Lab can offer much needed support and advice when they are just starting out.

Wrapping up the meeting were a number of presentations made to board members leaving the organization, after which the guests had an opportunity to mingle and network. For more information about the loans and other support services that the FCFDC offers, visit www.frontenaccfdc.com or call 613-372-1414.

 

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 05 March 2014 19:00

Market Growing For Craft Beer in Ontario

“Beer is the most perfect food. It’s full of vitamins and minerals; it’s made from grain and it has been around longer than just about any other agricultural product,” says Bill White, who has spent 37 years in the brewing industry. White now teaches at Niagara College and judges at some of the larger beer competitions in Canada and the United States.

Through his work with the Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB), he is also an advocate for the craft brewing industry in Ontario, which has been growing in leaps and bounds in recent years, even as sales of mass-market beer have been more or less flat.

Although there are brewers in most regions of Southern Ontario listed on the OCB website, including Toronto, the Golden Horseshoe, Southwestern Ontario and the National Capital Region, Southeastern Ontario is not listed.

That is why the FAB (Food and Beverage) region, a co-operative formed by the Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDC) from Frontenac, Prince Edward, L&A, and Hastings Counties to promote food and beverage production, brought Bill White to speak to a gathering of brewing enthusiasts at the Sydenham library last week.

Hosted by Anne Prichard of the Frontenac CFDC, the event was attended by brewers from throughout Eastern Ontario, including John Graham, the owner of Church Key Brewing Company of Campbellford.

Bill White placed craft brewing within the context of the local food movement that has been sweeping through the region.

“Artisanal foods and beverages are inextricably linked. Craft beer brings excitement with new experience. People want to enjoy food; they want to have an experience. They’ve travelled around Ontario and around the world and have tried interesting foods and interesting beverages and they will search those things out. The craft brewers are part of the local food movement just like the cheese-makers and sausage makers are, and they complement each other,” he said.

The standing-room-only crowd in the library seminar room was heavily weighted towards enthusiasts from all around the region, and as far as promoting beer was concerned, Bill White did not have much convincing to do, so he moved on to the industry.

In the 1800s, there were 2000 brewers in North America but by 1980 there were only 89, and of those only eight were craft brewers. Since then two things have happened. Those 89 large-scale brewers have consolidated into a mere handful, while the number of small-scale craft brewers has increased exponentially. 
In 1994 there were 537 brewers in North America, by 2008 there were over 1500, and by 2012 over 2100.

“I expect that by the time the Denver Beer Festival [the premier annual gathering for the craft beer industry in the United States] rolls around this year there will be over 3,000,” White said.

With 371 active brewing licenses, Canada is proportionally in sync with the United States. Ontario, which lagged behind Quebec and other provinces until recently, now accounts for 89 of those Canadian licenses, while Quebec is at 107.

“There are some real success stories in Ontario in recent years,” he said, “but I would argue there is still room in the market for more breweries.”

Looking at beer sales figures, he showed that while the increase in overall sales has remained in a very narrow range over the last 10 years, from increases of no more than 2% in any year to decreases of up to 1%, craft beer sales are increasing in excess of 10% per year. Although the sales only account for 5% of the market currently, they were only at 2% just a few years ago.

“And even though the sales are going up [to over 11 million barrels last year] the percentage increase each year is not going down. Demand continues to grow each year and the great thing is that it is all consumer-driven,” he said.

The beer distribution system in Ontario has long been a barrier for craft brewers. The Beer Store system, formerly known as Brewer’s Retail, is owned by the major brewers and therefore has no economic incentive to promote the wares of its still small, but growing, competition. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario has taken on the Ontario Craft Brewing industry as a growth area, and there are more beers available than ever before.

But for small brewers, alternative forms of marketing are essential.

John Graham, from Church Key, said that the essential thing is brewing quality beer. “If the beer is good, people will come and find it, one way or another.”

In order to help people find their beer, Church Key operates a pub, The Stinky Rose [beer and garlic, anyone?] and they sell their beer out of the retail store that is attached to the brewery, which is located in a former church. A few of their beers, particularly Northumberland Ale and Holy Smokes Scotch Ale, are available at selected LCBO stores, but they produce a number of specialty beers that beer lovers need to search out, such as their spicy Namastale, and Friar Buck’s Sarrasin Buckwheat beer. Sadly, three Church Key versions of the hoppy India Pale Ale, Hop Lust IPA, Black IPA and White IPA, are sold out.

At the end of Bill White’s presentation the question of how much it costs to start up a brewery was raised.

“There is no fixed answer to that. There are a lot of ways to start up a brewery. Some nano-brewers use extra capacity under contract at more established breweries until they can build up some capital and some market and then they start building on a very small scale, whereas others invest $500,000 or $1 million to get going. It also depends on location. Cities are different from rural areas,” Bill White said.

Anne Prichard said that the members of FAB are all committed to helping with financing, either by providing advice and support in seeking bank loans or their own money lending capacities. To that end, they have created the icraft handbook and app that can be downloaded from their website, fabregion.ca.

She said there are already a number of people who are thinking about starting up a brewery in the region, and the event in Sydenham last week was part of the process of helping bring a new and unique brewery to southeastern Ontario.

However, Bill White had one note of caution.

“You don’t start a brewery because you think it is a neat idea or because you think you can jump on a bandwagon and make a lot of money. It doesn’t happen that way, You need to have a passion for it, you need to want to spend 24 hours a day working on it.”

Kennebec Cream Ale anyone? or perhaps K&P IPA is more your style? or Parham Imperial Stout …?

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
With the participation of the Government of Canada