NEEBING -- Slate River Dairy co-owner Wilma Mol hopes learning her farm has now been given federal certification to sell their products nationwide will lead to increased business opportunities.
It’s an important designation, she said.
“Some of the hospitals and other institutions want to only buy products from a federally registered plant, instead of a provincial one,” Mol said Friday, celebrating the designation with MPP Bill Mauro (Lib., Thunder Bay-Atikokan) and representatives from Liberal MP Don Rusnak’s office.
The possibilities are endless now.
“It will expand our clientele base,” she said.
For Mauro it was a chance for a sneak peak at what the public might see next Saturday during an open house the Mol family plans to stage along with Thunder Oak Cheese Farm, located a few minutes away.
Mauro, who learned how to hand-feed calves during his tour, called the dairy a great local success story. The federal certification is great news for the local economy.
“It’s a very big deal for a local business,” Mauro said.
And it’s timely too, with more people choosing to source their food at the local level.
“I’ve always felt for a long time that there is a demand. People want local food, they want food security and they want to know how it’s grown. And I think we’re starting to hear more and more of that all the time,” Mauro said.
“To see local agricultural producers step up to the plate, meet that demand, create jobs, create a local economy and all the other benefits that come from local food is just spectacular.”
As for next Saturday’s open house, Mol said it’s a chance for the public to see the process of making milk and a number of other products from the ground up – and to see how the animals are actually raised. In other words, it’s a chance to meet the people behind their milk and how a farm fits into the local economy.
“The dairy business is part of a network that support a lot of other business – other farms, suppliers, trade professionals. And when you support your local dairy, you support the network,” Mol said.
Thunder Oak Cheese Farm owner Walter Schep said their storefront has been open for three years, but everyone seems to want a behind-the-scenes look at how cheese is made and stored.
The open house is their best chance, Schep said.
“It’s something you couldn’t do regularly,” he said.
The open houses at each farm are scheduled for May 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Slate River Dairy is located on Highway 61, immediately south of Highway 608. Thunder Oak Cheese Farm is located at 611 Boundary Dr.
