WINDSOR, ONT. Another milestone has been reached in the effort to vaccinate temporary foreign workers in Essex County. Forty to 50 per cent of migrant workers, or 4,619 workers, including some outside of Windsor-Essex, are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. Medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed calls these numbers very encouraging. “We need the majority and we always talk about breaking the chain of transmission we want more and more people to get vaccines and we’d like to address their concerns,” says Dr. Ahmed. Just a few weeks ago, roughly 60 per cent, or 6,175 of the temporary foreign worker population had received a single dose.
The Mushroom Council announces newly elected officers
At the February 18 Council virtual meeting, the Mushroom Council® elected new officers for 2021.
Chairperson: Sonya Beltran, director of operations, Masda Mushrooms/First Generation Farms, Toughkenamon, Pa.
Vice-Chairperson: Curtis Jurgensmeyer, CEO, J-M Farms, Miami, Okla.
Secretary: Emily Bettencourt, director of quality assurance and safety, Global Mushrooms, Gilroy, Calif.
Treasurer: Mark Moran, Kaolin Mushrooms/South Mill Champs, Kennett Square, Pa.
The nine-member Council is comprised of eight domestic growers and one importer representing four regions. The program s purpose is to maintain and expand existing mushroom markets and uses. Members are:
Region 1 (Includes all states except for Calif. and Pa.)
Axis Technology wins £4m deal with Canadian mushroom grower
Axis Technology’s mushroom harvesting and packing system. Image: Axis Technology
The Craigavon-based agritech business will finish installing its mushroom harvesting system for Canada’s Highline Mushrooms over the next few weeks.
Armagh agritech company Axis Technology has secured a deal worth £4m with Canadian mushroom grower Highline Mushrooms.
The Craigavon-based business has developed a mushroom harvesting system that aims to enhance harvesting and packing efficiency for producers, allowing them to operate at four times their normal output.
This system was developed with £120,000 in R&D funding from Invest NI, which also guided the company through UK patent application, EU design registration and skills development.
An Agri-Tech firm in Co Armagh has won a £4m contract for its machinery to be used to help a Canadian company improve its mushroom harvest.
Axis Technology in Craigavon used support from economic development agency Invest NI to improve its equipment for mushroom harvesting.
Its machinery makes mushroom harvesting and packing more efficient and enables harvesters to operate at four-times their usual level.
Economy Minister Diane Dodds congratulated the company for winning the lucrative deal with Highline Mushrooms, based in Ontario.
She said: “Axis Technology is a great example of a Northern Ireland company which has put innovation at the forefront of its growth strategy. Seeing a gap in the market, it has used Invest NI’s R&D support to strengthen its competitive position and grow sales in export markets.