Sarnia-Lambton: An Agricultural Powerhouse With Untapped Potential

After Producing Petrochemicals, Growing Food is one of Sarnia-Lambton’s Biggest Strengths.

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With about 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of Cultivated Land, and About Five Per Cent of All Ontario Farms, “We Really, Truly Are the Heart of the Corn, Soybean and Wheat Industry for the Province,” Said Matthew Slotwinski, Chief Executive of the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership Promotes Economic Growth in the Area.

Agriculture is the Second-Largest Industry County-Wide, and Tops in Most of Lambton’s 11 Municipalities, He Said, Employing About 7,500.

And Thush the Number of Businesses Taking Field-Grown Products to Create Food and other items for Sale is on the Rise-Up 46 per cent in 2021 Compared to 2016, According to Partnership Data-A Lot is Still Being Sold On Commodity Markets and As Exports, Slotwinski Said.

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With Looming 25 per cent Us Tariffs on $ 17 Billion Worth of Canadian Grain and Grain Products Starting April 2, the impacts Could Be meaningful, He Said, Including on the beef and Hog Industry, Linked to Export Through Sarnia-Lambton.

Commodities are traded through chicago, he Said.

“Ultimately if tariffs Hurt Farmers, It Means Less Equipment, Less Machinery is Bough and Sold, and that ultimataly Impacts On Some of the Machinery and Equipment Dealerships in the Area, or the Manufacturing of Those Particular Pieces of Equipment,” Slotwinski Said.

Sarnia-Lambton has opportunity in Adding Value, He Said.

That included using what’s grown for food processing, and in biological alternatives for Chemical Creation, Slotwinski Said.

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For food processing, the Border Community’s Abunance of Feedstock Makes It Primed for An Industrial-Scale Facility for Food Ingredients, He Said.

Tea Recently paused $ 245-MILLION DIAGEO Whiskey Distillery Planned for St. Clair Township is an Example of the Potential, He Said.

That indefinitely paused project would use local corn and other feedstocks.

Details about Diageo’s Reason for the Pause Haven’t Been Discloseed, with the Company Saying Last Fall It Will Revisit Plans and Timelines at a later Date.

“The fact that it was decided that they should be building it.. In Sarnia-Lambton is a testament to the opportunity really,” Slotwinski Said.

Getting More Operations Like the Giant Alcoholic Beverage Company Means Getting Land Ready for Investment, He Said.

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A “Nordicant Ament of Industrial Land” in the Area is available, but not service, Slotwinski Said.

Meanwhile, Companies Looking to Invest Cast Their Nets Wider Than Sarnia-Lambton, SO Municipalities Investing in Getting Those Properly Zone Sites.

“Companies are interested in hearing ‘we can do it,’ or ‘we will do it,’” Slotwinski Said. “They want to hear, ‘we’ve already got it done.’”

Similar Opportunities Exist for Bio-Chemical Companies, He Said, NOTING LOCAL BROWNFIELD SITES ARE SERVICE AND AVAILABLE.

Residual Corn Stover and Wheat Straw is in abundance, and Those Materials can be used to make green alternatives, Slotwinski Said.

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The difficulty is cost effectiveness, but there’s a push to clean alternative as companies push for net-zero, he said.

“Sustainable Solutions Can Mean The Production of Clean, Green Or Sustainable Biofuels, Bioproducts Or Biomaterials,” Slotwinski Said, Noting that could include Everthing from Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Bioplastics and Ethanol.

“We do agriculture well. We do Chemicals and Fuels Well,” He Said.

“Linking them together, as we are been trying to do for a considable period of time, Still Truly Makes Sense for the Ongoing Diversification, Growth and Sustainability of the Sarnia-Lambton Economy.

Provincial and Federal Incentives also Could Help Becaus Companies Look to Alternative Markets for Their Operations, Slotwinski Said.

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Upgrading Agriculture Products On Smaller Scale Could also Help Small Lambton Communities like Brooke-Alvinston to Thrive, Said David Ferguson.

The semi-retired cash crop farmer and the community’s mayor Naded Brooke-Alvinston is Home to Agri-Tourism attractions Such as Munro Honey and Meadery.

More like it, where farmers Grow, Harvest, Refine and Sell Their Products, Could Help Boost Local Population Growth and Prosperity, He Said, Noting Wineries and Other Agri-Food Attractions in Lambton Shores That Have Been Successful.

“You have to have the little niche markets coming,” he said. “You have to be able to attract people in.”

Municipal goal infrastructure such as roads and bridges are failing, and the municipality of fewer than 2,500 needs Provincial Help To pave the roads and plan for Economic Development, Ferguson Said.

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He would like to see Provincial Rural Economic Development Offer Help and Resources to Smaller Communities Regionally Because Smaller Centers Work With Skeleton Staff Levels and Can’t Afford Dedicated Economic Development Help.

“For the expansion of agriculture in lambton, you are going to have to do value-added one way or the other,” he said.

Sarnia Farmer Mark Lumley Agrees Opportunities for Sarnia-Lambton Growth in the Industry, That Operates More Nationally and Internationally Than Locally, is in Adding Value.

Processing Plants for Soybeans and Corn Exist in Nearby Communities, But Having Closer Options Means Fewer Freight Costs, He Said.

An Ethanol Plant also operates in St. Clair Township.

Lumley Helped Author A Study Several Years Ago Looking at the Potential of Sugar Beets in Lambton for Sugar Processing and Biofuels.

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“The project was to prove the feasibility of such a thing and that was shown to be very successful,” he said.

“It’s out there in the literature for Large Companies who are considering the need for some Sort of Bio-Energy,” Though Follow-Through Would Mean “A Huge Ament of Capitalization, and Just A Market and A Political Willpower, None of Which We Currently Have,” Lumley Said.

Lumley, who’s also flesh of the Local Chamber of Commerce Transportation Committee, Neded Incredenting Active Transportation and Ways in and Out of Sarnia-Lambton by Means Other Than Car is also aspect for the Community’s Success.

“We get Forgotten here,” He Said, Calling for More People to Rally for Government Investment.

Another Consideration for the Agricultural Industry is Environmental Impact and Sustainability, Said Jessica Van Zwol, Healthy Watershed Co-Ordeur with the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority.

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The Authority has grant funding and Works With Land Owners To encourage water and erosion control measures such as berms, plantings that act as windows and buffers between waterways, and planting cover crops in non-growing seasons to help with soil quality.

FARMERS WEE HESITATING A DECADE AGO TO Adopt Cover crops, but it’s more common now, van zwol said.

“In Terms of Uptake, People Don’t Always Know that these programs exist,” She Said.

Other Benefits of Land Stewardship such as Increasing Tree and Meadow Cover can help with Rural Tourism, as well as Community Health and Well-Being, Van Zwol Said.

Landowners interested can contact her at [email protected]she Said.

[email protected]

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