Firm gets funding to find defects in potatoes

EarthFresh Farms also receives federal cash to hire youths to work on its various green project initiatives

BURLINGTON — A farming company will receive more than $237,000 in federal funding to improve food production and support the hiring of youths for greenbased jobs.

The announcement was made at the head office of EarthFresh Farms, 1095 Clay Ave., by Oakville North-Burlington MP Pam Damoff on behalf of Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

“Our government supports science, technology and the growth of innovative Canadian firms. Like so many small and medium-sized businesses in Ontario, EarthFresh Farms is doing some really innovative work,” said Damoff.

“These businesses are critical to the Canadian economy, and our government will continue to put in place the tools that Canadian businesses need to grow, create jobs and secure long-term prosperity.”

EarthFresh Farms will receive $207,425 to support a program that detects defects in Ontario potatoes, optimizing product output and increasing profits for local farmers.

An additional $30,000 is dedicated to hiring youths to work on the Burlington company’s various green resource management initiatives.

The funding is being allocated through the National Research of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), which supports thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada in developing and commercializing technologies.

“EarthFresh is pleased to be working with the NRC-IRAP. Their support is enabling us to hire several young, energetic employees to help us meet our sustainability goals and we are excited to see what advancements can be made to reducing our food waste, and crop inputs, while increasing our grower profitability,” said Tom Hughes, president of EarthFresh Farms Inc.

“We are also very excited to see big improvements in the detection of defects in our white potato program.

“These improvements will drastically increase the competitiveness of this new variety while reducing food waste and improving grower returns.”