Record Staff
Family-owned and locally operated McClintock’s Farm (Dove Creek Road) had a special visitor to their booth at the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market on Saturday: Comox Valley MLA Don McRae.
McRae was there on behalf of Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick, to announce that McLintock’s Farm is receiving $5,000 through the B.C. government’s Buy Local program to create new opportunities for the company and increase sales.
“The Buy Local program is a huge success because it supports B.C. food products and B.C. jobs,” said McRae. “McClintock’s Farm is an excellent example of one of the family owned businesses in B.C. that is thriving and providing nutritious products for British Columbians.”
McClintock’s Farm is introducing new products made from the water buffalo milk produced on the farm. The new products which include water buffalo milk yogurt and gelato were recently introduced at the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market, sold at the farm, and can be found at selected retail establishments. The funding will be used for marketing and promoting the new products and creating labelling to advertise and sell to the public.
McClintock’s Farm has been in the water buffalo milk business for four years, and has been part of the local food economy in the Comox Valley for over 27 years. The farm has expanded their herd to a size that allows the McClintocks to diversify into new value-added products and move the water buffalo industry forward.
The business’s primary goal is to directly provide consumers with fresh, healthy, local food that is grown in an environmentally sustainable manner.
“We appreciate the support through the government’s Buy Local Program,” said Gerry McClintock, owner-operator of McClintock’s Farm. “It will allow us to lever our resources to launch a series of new products in a very competitive market. Bringing an unfamiliar product to market is especially challenging. Having the ability to do a larger, more-professional promotion is important to our success with these new products.”
Building the local market for British Columbia foods is a key commitment of government’s Agrifoods Strategy, a component of the BC Jobs Plan, to grow the agrifoods sector into a $14-billion-a-year industry by 2017.
The provincial government’s Buy Local program is administered by the B.C. Investment Agriculture Foundation.
Applications for the funding are available online at iafbc.ca/
“I want more farmers to be aware of the program and apply into it,” said McRae.
“Whether it’s for a large amount of money, or a small amount of money, it can support and grow (the industry) across our community.”