NEW LISKEARD - Canada and Ontario will spend up to $330,000 to enhance the Superior Plant Upgrading and Distribution (SPUD) Unit in New Liskeard.
The SPUD Unit supports farmers and the wider agriculture and food industry by offering testing for plant diseases and providing a stock of healthy plants to commercial growers across the province.
“Commercial growers across Ontario are on the cutting edge of innovation, bringing greater crop diversity to the province’s agriculture sector,” said Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture. “This will help growers access top-quality crops and crop research so they can reach current markets and create new opportunities.”
Money will enable a variety of capital and equipment upgrades to the SPUD Unit facility, including improvements to the irrigation, air filtration, heating and control systems, increases to sterilization capacity and improvements to the greenhouse coverings, says a news release today. It will improve the ability to anticipate, detect, mitigate and reduce plant diseases and pests along the supply chain, benefitting potato, berry, garlic, sweet potato and hazelnut growers in the province.
“Through these upgrades to the SPUD Unit, our government is making farming and food production in this province more resilient and competitive, and strengthening the industry against future disruptions," said Rob Flack, Ontario Minister of Agriculture.”
“The SPUD Unit is a critical piece of infrastructure, supporting the clean seed and propagation needs of several significant edible horticulture crops in Ontario,” said Shawn Brenn, Chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association.
The upgrades will begin this year and work will continue through 2025.
The SPUD Unit produces 10 per cent of the minitubers needed for seed potato production in Ontario and is the only source in Canada for garlic seed suited for the Ontario climate
