Day two of the Canadian Rural Innovation Summit took place on Tuesday.
The afternoon session at the Avaya building introduced Jeremy Laurin, the Vice President, Business Development & Commercialization of the Ontario Centres of Excellence as the key note speaker.
Jeremy Laurin, the Vice President, Business Development & Commercialization of the Ontario Centres of Excellence was a key not speaker during the Canadian Rural Innovation Summit. (Photo: Amanda Smith/Quinte News)
The theme of the day was ‘Breaking Barriers’.
Laurin is responsible for finding out what is needed by industry and explores the halls and labs of academia for the latest breakthroughs in research.
One of those breakthroughs came from Moyers Farms in Vineland, Ontario.
Paul Moyer is an eighth generation farmer and his family made candy apples and were quite good at it, to the point he was selling at Loblaws and appeared on the third season of Dragon’s Den.
Paul Moyer talks about the new technology he helped develop to eliminate pathogens on produce. (Photo: Amanda Smith/Quinte News)
Then it all came crashing down.
Following a listeria outbreak in candy apples, the company saw a 70% decline in product sales.
Following this devastating hit to their company, Moyer wanted to find a solution.
And find one he did.
Moyer says with the help of OCE, they were able to create the technology necessary to eliminate pathogens on produce.
Moyer says they are currently working on getting patents for their technology and working with companies like Sunkist.
Laurin told those in attendance that agriculture drives the economy and those who work in the innovation industry need to know what it does for Ontarians.
He said it’s all about building a team of people that fit together and finding that fit and bringing people together can change the world.
And Moyer proves just that.
To find out more about the technology used by Moyer, visit https://cleanworkscorp.com/
To learn more about OCE, click here.
