ICYMI

In case you missed it

Congratulations to Bogside Brewing for their win as both Brewery of the Year and New Brewery of the Year at the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards on November 17. Congratulations as well to Red Island Cider who was awarded the New Cider House of the Year. Both craft brewers also came home with specific awards. Bogside had a Gold and a Bronze in the German Style Speciality Ale for their Lighthouse Lagered Ale and their Wheat King County respectively, a Gold in the North American Style Amber/Red Ale with Brudnell Brown, and a Silver in the Experimental beer category with Pitcher in the Rye Roggenbier. Red Island Cider came away with a Silver in the Speciality Cider and Perry category for their Ghost Ship Wild Briar cider.

Other Island breweries received prizes as well: Copper Bottom Brewing had a Gold win in the India Pale Ale category with their Parkman Ale, and a Silver in the North American Style Speciality Ale with Centennial Stock. Upstreet walked away with a Gold for their Fireworks Farmhouse Saison in the Belgian Speciality Ale category (a collaboration with chef Michael Smith’s Fireworks restaurant). Obviously a stellar beer, it also won Silver in the Beer of the Year category. Upstreet also garnered an Honourable Mention in the Belgian Speciality Ale category for their De Novo IV. PEI Brewing brought home a Bronze for Vic Park Ale in the Pale Ale category, and Riverdale Orchard came home with an Honourable Mention in the Standard Cider and Perry category for their 2 Scots 3 Apples cider.

The Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards are held each year. There were 346 beer entries from 44 breweries and 54 cider entries from 8 cider houses that were judged by 31 judges to determine the winners. Congratulations to all the Island winners!

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Islanders will soon have the opportunity to share their thoughts on how to improve land ownership and use in the province. The province will be undertaking a comprehensive review of both the Lands Protection Act and the Planning Act.

“Islanders are incredibly passionate about our land. In fact, land has always been at the center of our history and serves as a primary source of fuel for our economy. We need a renewed Lands Protection Act 2.0 that is reflective of our values about land ownership and use. We also need to be more transparent in sharing the information we have with Islanders so that we can move forward, together,” agriculture and land minister Bloyce Thompson said in a press release.

During the sitting of the Legislature, the government will be introducing amendments to both the Lands Protection Act and the Business Corporation Act as immediate measures for transparency. Land ownership is currently governed by the Lands Protection Act and regulated by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC). There are restrictions on ownership and how much land a person or corporation can own. There is also a specific process in place to review corporate and non-resident ownership. Amendments to both Acts being introduced this fall will strengthen IRAC’s and other regulatory bodies’ authority to request information for their investigations, reviews and duties.

“The legislation that is currently in place has done well to serve its purpose over the last number of years, but like all legislation it needs to be reviewed regularly to determine if the objectives remain current. It is important that our land laws continue to strike appropriate balances to ensure that our children and grandchildren have the opportunity to use our land: to live, work and play,” Thompson added.

“We know that we need to maintain an agricultural land base, and that our land base is deeply connected to water and the environment. We know that our urban populations are growing. While there are competing interests, it is important that we consider the ability for Island farmers to succeed and for Island residents to acquire property. We need to get this right, for current and future generations of Islanders,” Premier Dennis King said.

Public consultation sessions are expected to take place in early 2020.

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(l-r) Kirsten Kouwenberg and Katie Hughes, members of the PEI 4-H dairy team at the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair in Toronto, ON

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The Atlantic Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF) Region is preparing to host Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ National Event in Fredericton, NB December 5-8, 2019.

Atlantic OYF regional chair, Heidi Lawless stated, “The Atlantic Committee has the unique opportunity of hosting every seven years and choosing one of our four beautiful provinces. This year we are delighted to showcase Fredericton, New Brunswick for our 39th national event. This years’ theme, ‘A Time to Celebrate’ encompasses what this organization is all about, celebrating the many wonderful crops and products our Canadian farm families produce.”

Every year this event recognizes farm couples between 18 and 39 years of age who have exemplified excellence in their profession while fostering better urban-rural relations. Justin and Laura Rogers, Picturesque Farms in Brae, PEI are one of seven entrepreneurial farm couples from across Canada chosen to present highlights of their operations at the event.

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers Program is an annual competition to recognize farmers that exemplify excellence in their profession and promote the tremendous contribution of agriculture.

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Canada’s Smartest Kitchen (CSK), the research arm of Holland College’s Culinary Institute of Canada, received almost $150,000 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to purchase a state-of-the-art vacuum filler, an invaluable piece of equipment when developing both sweet and savoury extruded or deposited food products.

Tim McRoberts, director of CSK, said the new Reiser VEMAG 500 will help research and development chefs create a wide range of food products for their clients.

“The VEMAG 500 will streamline the food product development process and maximize consistency, as it combines a variety of complex food processing steps. This will save time and money in the development cycle. The equipment is modular and flexible, so our research and development team will be able to use it for a wide variety of foods.”

Each year CSK undertakes over 80 projects in more than 15 food categories, so having equipment that is flexible and adaptable is crucial, especially for filling, portioning, depositing, grinding, and extrusion. The new machine gives the research team the ability to accurately and consistently meet the specific tolerances and precision measurements required in the field of food innovation.

As an NSERC Technology Access Centre, CSK supports both food product start-ups and established multinational food companies.

CSK celebrated their 10th anniversary last month with an Open House. It gave attendees an insight into the behind-the-scenes work that they do, including a look at the new VEMAG 500, as well as the chance to enjoy a variety of featured foods that had been developed and refined with CSK’s help.

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China reopened its markets to Canadian beef and pork after a four month ban. China had banned shipments in late June with Chinese authorities citing falsified export certificates as the reason for this measure. However, it was widely believed to be in retaliation for the detention of Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd. chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. China’s pork supply has been decimated by over 40 percent by an outbreak of African swine fever.

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The old familiar Mike’s Queen Street Meat Market (located on University Ave in Charlottetown—not to be too confusing!) has been torn down. A new larger building was built over the past year, and owner Mike Frizzell will operate out of it.

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Anyone looking to get their Richard’s Seafood fix next summer will have a second location to choose from. Ryan Doucet, owner of the business, will open a new spot on the south shore in Victoria. Located across from the wharf, it will have a takeout, seafood market, a local market, and ample seating.

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Congratulations to Porter Weeks from Kensington, PEI who was the Junior Showperson Champion and the first place winner in the Holstein Senior Heifer category at the TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic. The competition was at the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair in Toronto in early November. Over 300 4-H’ers from across Canada competed in the three-day event. Teams arrived and began to move in early Sunday morning to set up their displays and settle in their calves. Over the course of the prestigious competition, 4-H members competed individually in both showmanship and conformation, and vied as teams for Best Exhibit, Best Group of Three Calves, and Premier County. As well, congratulations to Kyle Bouma also from Kensington, who placed first in the Holstein Summer Yearling category and had an honourable mention in the Junior Champion competition.

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After being destroyed by fire, Eugene’s General Store has now reopened in Tignish in its temporary location in the building next door (which houses a coffee drive-thru). The store will continue to offer coffee to patrons, but now has basic foods and convenience supplies as well.

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Mavor’s Restaurant in the Confederation Centre of the Arts will close permanently on December 21. The restaurant has struggled to make a profit for years, and repeated attempts to draw new patrons has not been successful.

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The owners of Blue Mussel Cafe in Rustico have added a year-round restaurant in Charlottetown, at the corner of Fitzroy and Queen, called Slaymaker & Nichols Gastro House. They will have a tavern-style menu and will also operate an inn on the premises.

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Congratulations to all involved in bringing the Fall Flavours Festival to life, for winning the Canadian Tourism Award in Restaurants Canada & Diversey Culinary Tourism category.

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Congratulations to Cow’s Creamery for their wins at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

They took home prizes for their butter: 1st place for unsalted, and 3rd for their salted, and cultured butter. As well, their Applewood Smoked Cheddar placed second in the Flavoured Cheese-Naturally Smoked category. Also at the Fair, a congratulations to Idee Holsteins from Hunter River, PEI for their 3rd place win in the Premier Breeder Banner category, B&W Holsteins.